Organic agriculture in Iran: Farmers' barriers to and factors influencing adoption

Abstract

Organic agriculture is being promoted in Iran to address environmental problems resulted from the use of chemical materials in agriculture. Despite many advantages of organic agriculture, the results of several case studies show that its adoption rate is still very low among farmers. The purpose of this paper is to review previous studies that investigate the main factors influencing and challenges of adopting organic agriculture.The review included journal articles and conference papers from 2007 to 2012. The results showed that Iranian farmers have strong motives for the adoption, yet face challenges in certifying, marketing, access to reliable technical information, and credits.Given the review of factors that govern farmers' adoption of organic agriculture, key mechanisms for promoting farmers' adoption are discussed. Further research is needed to learn how to bring these mechanisms into play in Iran.

Factors Affecting Wheat Farmers’ Attitudes toward Organic Farming

“…This means that younger farmers have an inclination to accept organic farming as an innovative practice. One of the reasons behind this phenomenon is that younger farmers are more willing to take risks [10,27] and are interested in experimenting with new technology in comparison to older farmers [40]. However, the findings of the current study do not support the previous research conducted by Karki et al [20], Dunlap et al [21], Alzaidi et al [22], Dinpanah et al [23], and Ghane et al [24].…”

“…The findings of this study are, however, consistent with that of Djokoto et al [40]. Some studies show that farmers who have engaged in agriculture over a long period of time are more interested in acquiring more experience about the successes and failures of the technology employed to turn out products [10,40]. For example, Isin et al [19], Jayawardana and Sherief [17], Oluwasusi [11], Adebayo and Oladele [34], Wheeler [31], and Chouichom and Yamao [30] indicated that farming experience has a positive effect on attitudes toward organic farming.…”

“…In this context, many researchers consider organic farming -a system to produce food with minimal harm to ecosystems, animals, and humans -as a solution; it is seen as a strategy for ensuring food security, biodiversity, and the sustainability of the environment while countering the negative impacts of conventional agriculture [10][11]. Organic farming aims at conserving water and soil, and it requires the use of natural manure, avoiding the employment of fertilizers and pesticides in the production process; specialists argue that organic products are richer in vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants, which are beneficial for health [9,[11][12][13].…”

“…In 2010, Iranian organic farming lands comprised 7,256 hectares, and wheat -the key organic product in Iran -consisted of 1,156 hectares of farmland. These values indicate that despite all benefits of organic farming, Iranian farmers have not entirely adopted organic farming [10]. What is more important in this regard is to encourage these farmers to adopt organic farming [9].…”

“…However, other studies have indicated that there is a negative or nonsignificant correlation between age and attitude toward organic farming practices among farmers [15,17,[25][26]. This means that younger farmers have a better attitude for accepting organic farming as a new innovation; perhaps this is due to the willingness of younger farmers to take risks [10,27].…”