Evaluation of Agricultural Sustainability based on Environmental, Economic and Social Dimensions using the Vikor Model (Semnan Urban Area)
Journal Title: Journal of Agroecology - Year 2024, Vol 16, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction Population growth and increased human demand for food have increased the requirements for agricultural products. Sustainable agriculture is a farming method that emphasizes long-term sustainability with minimal impact on the environment. Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable agriculture, it is necessary to identify indicators and criteria of sustainability and make a real assessment of the situation in order to measure sustainability or instability based on the criteria of sustainable agriculture. This study has evaluated and compared the sustainability of agriculture and ranked selected cities of Semnan province (Semnan, Sorkheh and Mehdishahr) according to the level of sustainability by using criteria consisting of environmental, social and economic multi-criteria decision-making criteria. Materials and Methods This research is descriptive-analytical with an applied nature. The method of collecting survey data is the library. In the analysis process, while using quantitative data from organizations and statistics, experts' opinions have also been used. The selection of questioned people has been done in a stratified and quota manner, and in this method random selection of people should be strictly avoided. There are various methods to evaluate sustainability, but the most efficient ones are based on the explanation of various criteria and indicators. Evaluation of agricultural sustainability in Semnan, Mahdishahr and Sorkheh cities in the form of three social, economic and environmental criteria, and each of them includes several sub-criteria, which is carried out through the Shannon entropy method of weighting them and then through the Vikor Bin method. The agricultural sustainability of these three cities is evaluated. Results and Discussion Based on the results obtained from the three criteria considered in the agricultural sustainability evaluation section, the environmental criterion, with a final weight of 0.52 has won the highest score, followed by the economic criterion, with a weight of 0.3 in the second place and the social criterion with a value of 0.17 has the lowest weight of the criterion in the evaluation of agricultural sustainability. According to the obtained results, among the environmental sub-criteria, the chemical fertilizer distribution sub-criteria with a weight of 0.101 and the consumption of poisons with a weight of 0.097 and also the sub-criteria of efficient irrigation systems with a weight of 0.081 are the most important and Soil fertility sub-criterion with a weight of 0.050 has the least importance in agricultural sustainability. In other words, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides while simultaneously increasing the efficient use of new irrigation systems enhances agricultural sustainability. This approach is one of the fundamental solutions to address water scarcity by improving irrigation efficiency. Among the economic sub-criteria, the sub-criterion of water economic efficiency, with a weight of 0.076, and the yield of agricultural products, with a weight of 0.062, are the most important. Conversely, the sub-criterion of the income ratio of rural to urban households, with a weight of 0.032, is the least important. Among the sub-criteria of the social index, the sub-criterion of forming sustainability promotion classes (education) with a weight of 0.067 is the most important, and the sub-criterion of population density with a weight of 0.028 has the least role in the sustainability of agriculture. The high importance of farmers' awareness of sustainable farming systems means that increasing this awareness will significantly enhance agricultural sustainability. This can be achieved through the formation of extension classes and necessary training programs, which will have the greatest impact on promoting sustainable agriculture. Sorkheh City, with an area of 9222 square kilometres, is in first place, Semnan with an area of 11017 square kilometres, is in second place, and Mahdishahr City is in third place, with an area of 1943 square kilometres in terms of sustainable agriculture. Conclusion In general, the results of this research make it possible to know the importance of different parameters affecting sustainability, to evaluate sustainability and to compare the cities of Semnan province with appropriate accuracy so that an effective step can be taken in applying appropriate policies to improve the sustainability of agriculture.
Authors and Affiliations
donya bayzidnezhad,Masood Taghipour,hamed ghaderzade,emad valizade,
Keywords
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- EP ID EP758600
- DOI https://doi.org/10.22067/agry.2023.79828.1132
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