Sustainable farm system management considering economic and environmental attitudes

Abstract

Both increasing competition for water among farmers and chemical pollution due to current agricultural practices have led to unsustainability in the Kamfirooz region in the Province of Fars, Iran. The effects of management practice need to be analysed so that we do not veer from a sustainable path for the future. The suggested model combines a biophysical model (WinEPIC) and a mathematical programming model of farmers' economic behaviour with game theory to provide a more realistic representation of economic agri-environmental attitudes. This article investigated the optimal solutions for the conflicting objectives between the two relevant players, namely farmers and the community. The results indicated that it is possible to manage sustainable agricultural systems and the protection of resources by applying the appropriate management practices.

Keywords:

• bioeconomic modelling
• game theory
• sustainability
• chemical pollution
• water loss

JEL Classification:

• C61
• C72
• Q01
• Q20