Development of a Scale to Remove Farmers’ Sustainability Barriers to Meteorological Information in Iran

Naser Valizadeh, Latif Haji, Masoud Bijani, Negin Fallah Haghighi, Mahsa Fatemi, Ants-Hannes Viira, Yenny Katherine Parra-Acosta, Alishir Kurban and Hossein Azadi
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Naser Valizadeh: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144165186, Iran
Latif Haji: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144165186, Iran
Masoud Bijani: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), Tehran 1497713111, Iran
Negin Fallah Haghighi: Department of Technology Development Studies (DTDS), Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran 7144165186, Iran
Mahsa Fatemi: Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 7144165186, Iran
Yenny Katherine Parra-Acosta: Business Administration, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá 110111, Colombia
Alishir Kurban: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi 830011, China
Hossein Azadi: Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi 830011, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-18

Abstract: Even with significant breakthroughs in the production and delivery of meteorological information, most farmers are not able to utilize such information properly and pertinently. Up to the present time, a standardized scale has not been developed to examine farmers’ sustainability barriers to meteorological information use (BMIU). Furthermore, there is no doubt that identifying indicators and dimensions of sustainability barriers to meteorological information and weather forecasts’ usage by farmers can play a major role in their adaptation and resilience to the risks of climate change. Therefore, the present study aimed to generate and validate a scale for BMIU by farmers through an eight-step approach. Accordingly, the statistical population included 9006 Iranian farmers, 368 of whom were selected as study samples. The principal component factor analysis (PCFA) and second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were further practiced to develop the scale for meteorological information and weather forecasts’ use. Factor analysis also led to the emergence of five latent factors including “educational–communicative barriers (ECBs)”, “normative barriers (NBs)”, “informational barriers (IBs)”, “infrastructural–political barriers (IPBs)”, and “professional–economic barriers (PEBs)”. The second-order CFA correspondingly confirmed these five factors and their 25 related indicators. Given the challenges facing academic scholars, decision makers, and authorities in the application and facilitation of meteorological information, the developed multidimensional scale in this study along with its implementation steps can be effective in examining the limitations of utilizing such information and measuring its impacts in different agricultural communities.

Keywords: climate change; sustainability barriers; agricultural extension; farmers’ adaptation; vulnerability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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