Factors affecting the implementation of soil conservation practices among Iranian farmers

Abstract

As soil is the basis for agriculture, soil erosion is one of the major threats to food security in arid and semi-arid regions across the world. Therefore, soil conservation is an important step to increase productivity and ensure sustainability in agriculture. To implement soil conservation measures, farmers must voluntarily adopt soil conservation behaviors. Therefore, it may be important to understand the psychological and social factors that influence farmers' environmental sustainability. Thus, in this study, social cognitive theory (SCT) was used as a theoretical framework to investigate the factors influencing Iranian farmers' soil conservation behaviors (SCBs). The results showed that SCT was a successful theory in this area as it could explain 0.662 and 0.537 percent of behavioral intentions (BI) and SCBs, respectively. Moreover, the two components of self-efficacy (SE) and outcome expectancies (OE) were the strongest SCT variables that influenced SCBs. Overall, our results may provide new insights for policymakers in the agricultural sector to reduce soil erosion.