The effects of the implementation of land equipping and renovation plan on the environmental aspects of sustainable agriculture in Shaft city

Academic Thesis for Master's Degree

Field: Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Management Orientation

Abstract

Dispersion and smallness of land is one of the traditional structural elements of the country's agriculture, which today has become one of the main obstacles to agricultural development. The most important goals that the implementation of the plan for equipping and renovating paddy lands can be divided into four economic, social, institutional and environmental areas. In the environmental dimension, with the aim of preventing soil erosion and land destruction, reducing the consumption of inputs, especially chemical inputs such as fertilizers and chemical poisons. . . is called one of the goals of the project. This research tries to investigate the effects of the implementation of the plan of equipping and renewing land on the environmental dimensions of sustainable agriculture in Shaft city. The present research has used the descriptive method of correlation. The statistical population of this research was formed by the rice farmers of Shaft city who have equipped and traditional rice fields. 244 people were randomly selected by random sampling. The content validity of the questionnaire was obtained by a panel of experts. Also, the reliability test was conducted through a guide study to obtain the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.832 for equipped lands and 0.757 for traditional lands. The results of the t-test in the field of environmental issues showed that the amount of poison used to control the rice stem-eating worm in the two groups was not significantly different. But regarding the amount of urea fertilizer consumption, the amount of herbicide consumption, the amount of fungicide consumption per hectare, the two groups have a significant difference at the 99% level, and the two communities have a significant difference at the 95% level regarding the phosphate fertilizer consumption. In the context of comparing the environmental dimensions of sustainable agriculture in equipped and traditional lands, 51.8% of the rice farmers with equipped lands did second cropping in their lands, but only 13.1% of the farmers with traditional lands did second cropping in rice fields. In the field of using biological control using Trichogramma bee against rice stemworm, 17% of farmers with equipped lands have used this method more than farmers with traditional lands. 14% of the farmers with traditional lands have changed the use of their rice fields, but the farmers with equipped lands after the implementation of the plan to equip and modernize the land, only 3.5% of them have changed the use of their lands and in this way have caused less damage to the environment due to the change of uses.

Key words: agricultural equipment and modernization, sustainable, equipped lands, traditional lands.

Chapter One:

Research overview

Introduction

Dispersion and smallness of land is one of the traditional structural elements of the country's agriculture, which today has become one of the main obstacles to agricultural development. has been Low productivity, high production costs, prevention of appropriate agricultural patterns, inefficient farm management, lack of effective use of machinery, differences between farmers and weakening of social solidarity in rural society, and finally poverty and rural migration as indicators of underdevelopment, are all somehow related to land fragmentation (Shirzad, 1376). In the new production systems in the agricultural sector and the application of technology and the mechanization of various stages of the agricultural production process, the irregular distribution of parts is considered an inhibiting factor that will reduce productivity and increase production costs (Tusli, 1378). The high cost of production, lack of timely access to agricultural inputs (fertilizer, poison, water, etc.), the low level of technology and, as a result, the high costs and prices of agricultural machines are among the main reasons for the lack of progress in rice cultivation in the country. Considering that rice is the most important source of food in our country after wheat, it is necessary to pay more attention to this valuable product. As a result, to increase the production of this food item, we will have no choice but to increase the yield per unit area or increase the cultivated area.In both cases, it is better to cultivate rice mechanized. Before the mechanization of rice cultivation, fundamental works must be done, one of which is the leveling and integration of paddy fields. The leveling and integration of paddy fields not only affects various aspects of the lives of farmers in that region, but also plays a significant role in the efficiency of machines in these areas, as a result of which, the efficiency and performance of various agricultural machines, such as: transplanters, planting and harvesting machines, increases greatly (Aftakhari, 2015). It is counted (Abdolhzadeh and Kalantari, 2015). Considering the issues and problems of agricultural land dispersion, to solve the problems and complications caused by it, agricultural planners and policymakers recommend a logical and feasible solution of land integration, which is a policy related to changing the size of land to improve and increase the production of agricultural products, rationalize exploitation, use new agricultural machinery and technology, and finally, achieve rural and agricultural development (Amiranjad and Rafiei, 2018). In other words, this process and organization of land is a basic necessity for sustainable rural and agricultural development (Kalantari et al., 2014). Agriculture is sustainable [1] (Alai et al., 2017). In fact, agriculture is sustainable when it is ecologically safe, economically viable, socially appropriate, agronomically appropriate, and based on a scientific and Klinger approach (Gold [2], 2001). Humans need to achieve systems that, while enjoying economic dynamics, can improve the environment and optimal use of available resources, and also play a significant role in meeting the nutritional needs of humans and improving the quality of life of human societies (Adali Sardoi et al., 2019). One of the main axes of the economic development of the country is the development of the agricultural sector and the optimal use of water and soil resources with the aim of creating food security for the growing population of the country. The agricultural sector has been given attention due to the development experience of industrialized countries and for economic, political and social reasons, as well as because a significant part of the population is employed in this field, either directly or indirectly. As far as Iran is concerned, studies show that despite the implementation of various agricultural and rural development programs in the past decades by this sector, compared to other sectors, it has not grown properly and in some cases it has had a downward trend (Shakuri, 2012). In the way of developing and exploiting water and soil resources and increasing water productivity due to the variety of weather conditions, there are various obstacles and problems that require different solutions in different parts of the country. In this regard, creating the necessary infrastructure and engineering arrangement of paddy fields is of particular importance and is one of the most complex and essential steps in improving the quality and quantity of this product (Adlinuri, 2011). The most important point in this direction is that the main platform of equipping and renovation operations and definitely the farmers are the main owners of these projects. Therefore, any activity that is carried out in this platform must necessarily provide the interests and opinions of farmers, for this reason, technical issues and standards and the opinions of farmers are considered important evaluation indicators (Yazdani, 2013). Today, the time has come to look at what has been done and pay attention to its strengths and weaknesses, evaluate it, and by modifying the methods, follow the future path with more seriousness and power. In this research, we seek to investigate the effects of the implementation of the plan to equip and modernize land on the environmental dimensions of sustainable agriculture in Shaft city. 1-3- Importance and necessity of the research Considering the importance of rice in meeting the food needs of the country and taking into account the conditions of paddy lands, equipping, modernizing and integrating these lands in order to create suitable grounds for increasing the productivity of water and soil resources. It is inevitable.