Analysis of Farmers' Social Interactions to Apply Principles of Conservation Agriculture in Iran: Application of Social Network Analysis

Implementation of Conservation Agriculture (CA) project is a process of multi-participation that involves actors from agricultural researchers and scientists, extension agents, private consulting firms, pioneer farmers, rural cooperatives, family members, peer farmers, etc. The social interactions between farmers and actors drive the CA development. Therefore, this study analyzes the social network structures and characteristics of various actors by social network analysis in seven processes of applying CA in Iran. The research sample was composed of farmers who participated in the CA project in three provinces of Fars, Golestan, and Khuzestan (n= 133). The research instrument was a questionnaire that was designed as a matrix. The findings showed that pioneer farmers, CA farmers, and family members were the main actors in the farmers' social network. It can be concluded that these actors were the main social power in applying CA principles by farmers and they constituted the main centrality of the farmers' social network. It means that farmers are more likely to interact with local actors, and they interact less with the government and the actors outside the rural community. Therefore, it can be recommended that social power should be identified and project management should be organized through them in attempts to implement CA.