Evaluation of Agricultural Sustainability based on Environmental, Economic and Social Dimensions using the Vikor Model (Semnan Urban Area)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• donya bayzidnezhad ¹
• Masood Taghipour ¹
• hamed ghaderzade ²
• emad valizade ³

¹ Department of Agricultural Economics, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Mazandaran, Iran

² Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kurdistan, Kurdistan, Iran

³ Department of Economics, Payam Noor University, West Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/agry.2023.79828.1132

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.
 

Keywords

• Criteria weighting
• Evaluation indicators
• Multi-criteria analysis
• Shannon entropy
• Sustainable Agricultural development

Main Subjects

• Sustainable agriculture and food production systems

---

©2023 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source.

References

1. Amirzadeh Moradabadi, S., Ziaei, S., Mehrabi Basharabadi, H., & Kikha, A. (2018). Assessing agricultural sustainability in Iran using the combined sustainability index. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 2(49), 661-674. (In Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22059/ijaedr.2018.252301.668565
2. Ashrafi, M., Hooshmand, M., & Keramatzadeh, A. (2014). A study of sustainable agricultural development in rural areas with emphasis on economic approach (Case study: Villages of Kashmar county). Quarterly Journal of Rural Development Strategies, 1(2), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.22059/jhgr.2018.253223.1007653
3. Chen, S. K. (2000). The establishment of evaluation and indices system for Chinese sustainable development. World Environment, 1, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082270.
4. Chen, L.Y., & Wang, T.C. (2009). Optimizing partners’ choice in IS/IT outsourcing projects: The strategic decision of fuzzy VIKOR. International Journal of Production Economics, 120(1), 233-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2008.07.022
5. Dadashian Sarai, M., Dashti, Q., Hayati, B., & Ghahramanzadeh, M. (2015). Combined application of hierarchical analysis and TOPSIS technique in determining the weight value of criteria and assessing agricultural sustainability (Case study: Selected cities of East Azerbaijan province). Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production, 25(1), 145-157. (In Persian with English abstract)
6. Davarpanah, S., Bonab, S.H., & Khodaverdizadeh, M. (2016). Assessment and comparison of sustainable agriculture approach using a combination of AHP and TOPSIS. International Academic Journal of Economics, 3(9), 7-18.
7. Dong, F., Mitchell, P.D., & Colquhoun, J. (2015). Measuring farm sustainability using data envelope analysis with principal components: The case of Wisconsin cranberry. Journal of Environmental Management, 147, 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.08.025.
8. Ghaderi, N., Shams, A., Ahadnejad Reveshty, M., & Hooshmandan Moghaddam Fard, Z. (2016). Measuring and analyzing agricultural development of sub districts in Paveh township using Vikor method. Agricultural Economics and Development, 24(1), 81-109. (In Persian with English abstract) (In Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.30490/aead.2016.59023 .
9. Ghanbari, Y., & Barghi, H. (2009). Challenges in sustainable Iranian agriculture development. Strategic Journal, 219, 18-23. https://doi.org/18.252301.66856520ijaedr./10.22059
10. Ghazvini, M., Veisi, H., Mahdavi Damghani, A.M., Khoshbakht, K., & Ali Nejatian, M. (2012). Study of sustainability status in vineyards of Takestan county by using Framework for Evaluation Sustainable Land Management (FESLM). Journal of Agroecology, 2(1), 104-115. (In Persian with English abstract)
11. Hassanshahi, H., Iravani, H., Daneshvar Ameri, Z., & Kalantari, K. (2015). Measure and comparison of economic, social and ecological sustainability of farming systems in the Marvdasht Plain. Journal of Desert, 20(2), 231-239. https://doi.org/10.22059/jdesert.2015.56485 .
12. Jaafari, A., Najafi, A., Pourghasemi, H.R., Rezaeian, J., & Sattarian, A. (2014). GIS-based frequency ratio and index of entropy models for landslide susceptibility assessment in the Caspian forest, northern Iran. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 11, 909-926. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-013-0464-0
13. Jamali Moghadam, E., Yazdani, S., Salami, H., & Peykani, G. (2017). Measuring sustainability of farmers plains of Kamin Fars province: Comparison of methods PCA and AHP. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 48(2), 23-33. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijaedr.2017.62006
14. Koocheki, A., Nassiri Mahallati, M., Moradi, R., & Mansouri, H. (2013). Zoning status of sustainable agricultural development in Iran and providing strategies for sustainability. Journal of Agricultural Science and Sustainable Production, 23, 181-197. (In Persian with English abstract)
15. Liu, F., & Zhang, H. (2015). Novel methods to assess environmental, economic, and social sustainability of main agricultural regions in China. Journal of Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 33(3), 621–633. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-012-0131-8.
16. Mohammadi Yeganeh, B., Valai, M., & Cheraghi, M. (2013). The effects of water level decrease in Urmia Lake on the agricultural economy of the surrounding villages (Case study: Merhamatabad North, Miandoab city). Journal of Geography and Environmental Hazards, 2(5), 56-71(In Persian with English abstract)
17. Mojtahedzadeh, A., Karkehabadi, Z., & Kamyabi, S. (2022). Determining the spatial boundaries of urban-region for Semnan and its surrounding area using the method of measurement of Inductive flows. Journal of Geographical Researches, 37(2), 163-170. (In Persian with English abstract) . http://georesearch.ir/article-1-1320-en.html
18. Munssing, M., & Shearer, W. (1995). Defining and measuring sustainability. The United Nations University, The Word Bank.
19. Rezaee, A., & Keramatzadeh, A. (2020). Evaluation of environmental, economic and social Sustainability of crops (case study: Gorgan County). Journal of Natural Environment, 73(3), 515-528. https://doi.org/10.22059/jne.2020.297011.1905
20. Rezaee, A., Mortazavi, S., Peykani, G., & Khalilian, S. (2014). Evaluation and comparison of the sustainability level of agronomy crops under drought condition by using MCDA in the East of Zayandeh-Rud river basin. Journal of Environmental Studies, 40(2), 529-540. (In Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22059/jes.2014.51217.
21. Spiertz, J.H.J. (2010). Nitrogen, sustainable agriculture and food security: A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30, 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1051/agro:2008064.
22. Tatlidil, F., Boz, I., & Tatlidil, H. (2009). Farmers’ perception of sustainable agriculture and its determinants: A case study in Kahramanmaras province of Turkey. Journal of Environment, Development and Sustainability, 11, 1091–1106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-008-9168-x.
23. Yaghobi, N., & Sedighi, H. (2016). Investigating the factors affecting acceptance of sustainable agricultural techniques from wheat men’s perspective (Case study: Villages of Ayaz Chay village in Tabriz city). Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 47(2), 13-21. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijaedr.2016.58830
24. Yu, P. (1973). A class of solutions for group decision problems. Journal of Management Science, 19, 936-946. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.19.8.936.
25. Zhen, L., & Routray, J. K. (2003). Operational indicators for measuring agricultural sustainability in developing countries. Journal of Environmental Management, 32(1), 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-2881-1