Identifying Indicators of Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture in Paddy Fields of Guilan Province
In recent years, agriculture has become the prime polluter of natural resources. It is therefore essential to make assessments based on reliable indicators to ensure that an agricultural system remains not only productive, but also ecologically sound. A large area of arable land in Guilan provin...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Islamic Azad University
2014-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ijamad.com/4(1)/IJAMADMarch2014P73.pdf |
| Summary: | In recent years, agriculture has become the prime polluter of
natural resources. It is therefore essential to make assessments
based on reliable indicators to ensure that an agricultural system
remains not only productive, but also ecologically sound. A
large area of arable land in Guilan province is devoted to rice
cultivation so the transition to environmentally sound agricultural
practice in paddy fields of the province is an important strategy.
The main purpose of this study was to present a new and comprehensive
framework for assessing environmentally sound agricultural
practice applicable to the paddy fields in Guilan Province.
A review of the relevant literature identified environmentally
sound indicators that had been used by researchers in recent
years. Then some parameters were introduced for examination
and prioritization. The proposed structural model includes seven
factors and 21 indicators. The target population included university
faculty members and researchers who were familiar with the
concepts of agricultural sustainability and that were familiar
with the Guilan paddy fields. A structural on-line questionnaire
was the main instrument used to gather information. Based on
experts’ points of view, the coefficient of significance for each
of the selected indicators was measured using the Yager fuzzy
screening method. The results obtained from structured questionnaires
showed that 20 of the 21 indicators were appropriate
for assessing environmentally sustainable agriculture. |
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| ISSN: | 2159-5852 2159-5860 |