Identifying the Best Strategies for Improving and Developing Sustainable Rain-Fed Agriculture: An Integrated SWOT-BWM-WASPAS Approach

Ali Firoozzare (), Sayed Saghaian (), Sasan Esfandiari Bahraseman and Maryam Dehghani Dashtabi
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Ali Firoozzare: Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948978, Iran
Sayed Saghaian: Department of Agricultural Economic, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
Sasan Esfandiari Bahraseman: Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948978, Iran
Maryam Dehghani Dashtabi: Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948978, Iran

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: The practice of rain-fed agriculture plays a vital role in both the economy and food security, yet it is subject to various challenges such as climate change and institutional barriers. This study employs the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analyses, Best-Worst Method (BWM), and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) integrated approach to identify the most effective strategies for improving and developing sustainable rain-fed agriculture in Mashhad, Iran. The SWOT analysis identifies the essential sub-factors for improving and developing sustainable rain-fed agriculture. Then, the BWM method is utilized to assign weights to each sub-factor. Finally, the WASPAS method is used to rank the 19 strategies that can help achieve sustainable rain-fed agriculture. The findings of this study reveal that the strategy of establishing an institutional framework to promote sustainable rain-fed agriculture (WT7) has received the highest score. On the other hand, strategies related to supporting policies at the farm level (ST2, WO3, WT2, WT1) were placed in the middle and final priorities. Thus, it is recommended that in the current context of rain-fed agriculture in Mashhad, policymakers prioritize institutional policies related to rain-fed agriculture over farm-level policies. This study proposes a comprehensive and systematic approach to enhance and promote sustainable rain-fed agriculture.

Keywords: sustainable rain-fed agriculture; water governance; water shortage; strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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