The Influence of Water User's Cooperative on Farmer's Attitudes toward Agricultural Water Management: A Case Study in Khorasan-Razavi Province, Iran

The purpose of the present study was to investigate and analyze the influence of water users’ cooperative (WUC) on farmers’ attitudes toward optimum agricultural water management practices with an approach to compare the two groups of farmers in irrigation networks with WUC and without it. The research method was a descriptive-correlational and causal-comparative study of the survey type. The target population in the study was the entire farmers of irrigation networks in Khorasan-Razavi Province. Using stratified random sampling technique, 335 participants were selected as a statistical. The content and face validity of the questionnaire was specified after several times of review and correction by the faculty members at Tarbiat Modarres University and the executive experts of Agricultural Jihad Organization and Regional Water Joint-stock Company in Khorasan-Razavi Province. The reliability analysis was conducted and Cronbach’s alpha values for the various sections of instrument were estimated to be between 0.73 and 0.86. The results of descriptive findings showed that attitude rate more than half of studied farmers (55.1%) regarding agricultural water management were at positive relatively and positive levels. Moreover, the results from statistical analyses indicated that WUC was very effective on the development of factors related to the social, human, physical, financial, and natural capitals, so that the WUC irrigation network with increases in the components of social confidence, solidarity, and participation, improved extension contacts, developed appropriate information channels, improved the status of regional irrigation system, and increased water users’ participation in irrigation water management were more effective on farmers’ attitudes toward the development and application of agricultural water management strategies such as under-pressure irrigation technology compared to non-WUC irrigation networks.