Assessing the sustainability of agricultural farming systems in Rurals of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces

A B S T R A C T
One of the main issues in the development of the agricultural field is the pattern of agricultural systems. Considering the ever-increasing population growth, the need for food is increasing. Special attention should be paid to one of the fundamental issues of agricultural systems as providing food and agricultural self-sufficiency. For this reason, this research aims to measure the sustainability of agricultural systems in Chaharmahal O Bakhtiari province. The research's statistical population comprises small farmers and rural production cooperatives in Chaharmahal O Bakhtiari province. Considering the wideness of the statistical population, the sample size of the research using the Cochran formula was a total of 750 farmers. To compare the two agricultural systems, the sample size in the smallholder and production cooperative agricultural systems was determined to be 380 and 370. The main research tool is a researcher-made questionnaire, and the data gained was analyzed using SPSS 22 software and the VIKOR model. The research results showed that 7 cooperatives are stable, 10 are semi-stable, and 4 are unstable. Also, the agricultural system of smallholders for Farrukhshahr and Saman cities are stable; Sudjan, Sheikh Shaban, Ben, Dastana, Boldaji, Faradonbeh, Heydari, and Aloni, are semi-stable, and Nafch, Shamsabad, Avergan, Gandoman, Konrak, Imam Qais, Deh Nu, Behesht Abad, Gahro, Tishniz and Junghan are completely unstable.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Due to the process of globalization, people's role in determining their destiny is felt more, especially in the economic aspect of life these days. In such a way, one of the main economic parts is related to the agricultural part, and the agricultural system is its main core. Considering the need to stabilize agricultural production systems in the current era, it is necessary to examine the current state of agricultural systems and their compliance with sustainability criteria to plan for sustainable agricultural development. Of course, this matter is more important in Iran country. Therefore, it can be said that sustainability does not mean that there should be no transformation but that the agricultural system should be transformed in the form of a geographical phenomenon according to the spatial, economic, and social conditions.
 
Methodology
The study is one of the combined research, which is a cross-sectional research based on the objective, applied research, descriptive data collection method, and survey research. The statistical population includes 64416 small farmers and 10435 rural production cooperative operators in the form of 21 companies. The sample size halted using Cochran's formula. The main research tool is a researcher-made questionnaire. The research questionnaire is designed in 3 parts. The first part of the questions is related to the economic index, the second part is the social index questions, and the third is the environmental one. The questions are prepared on a 5-point Likert scale (very high, high, medium, low, very low). At first, to measure the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of 30 experts, university professors, and doctoral students whose expertise was in the field of rural geography and agriculture ش used, and the validity of the research tool was evaluated, the necessary corrections were made if needed. Also, after designing and finalizing the questionnaire, Bartlett and KMO methods were used to determine its validity, which is construct validity. Finally, the supervisor confirmed the questionnaire's validity after deep study and correction by the student. Cronbach's alpha method, which was performed by SPSS software, was also used to measure the reliability of reflective structures. The data was collected using library and field methods. VIKOR model was used in SPSS software for stability analysis, and the entropy weighting method was used to identify effective indicators in system stability. 
 
Results and discussion
To analyze the sustainability of agricultural systems, the VIKOR model has been used using three main indicators (economic, social, and environmental). This model has been developed as a multi-criteria decision-making method to solve the problem of discrete decision-making with inconsistent criteria (different measurement units) and conflicts. This method is focused on ranking and choosing from a set of alternatives and determining compatible solutions for the problem with conflicting criteria, which can help decision-makers reach the final decision. A compatible solution is a solvable solution that is the closest solution to the ideal situation, and the meaning of compatibility is a solution that is obtained based on mutual agreement. This study used the Shannon entropy method to weight the indicators. In the VIKOR model, the closer QI value to zero has a higher level of stability, and the closer one to 1 has a lower level of stability. 
According to the findings of the VIKOR model, the level of sustainability of agricultural systems in the studied area using three economic, social, and environmental indicators is very different, so in both exploitation systems, there are cases with situations of stability. The results of the research showed that in cooperative production systems, 7 cooperatives (Goldera Farrokhshahr, Omman Samani, Ghadir e Dastna, Deh Sahra, Fadak, Sudejan, and Kousar) are stable, 10 cooperatives (Goharbaran e Nafch, Sadat e Sheikh Shaban, Refah e Beldaji, Pishgam, Shohada Gandoman, Firouz e Dehnu, Dasht e Door e Imam Qais, Choghakhor e Avergan, Zayandeh Rood e Jonoobu and Goldasht e Jonghan) are semi-stable and 4 cooperatives are unstable (Dasht e Ardel, Vahdat e Tishniz, Veladat e Ghahro and Gol Ara Shamsabad). Also, the agricultural system of smallholder in the city of Farrukhshahr and Saman is stable, Sudjan, Sheikh Shaban, Ben, Dastena, Boldaji, Faradonbeh, Heydari and Aloni, semi-stable, and Nafch, Shamsabad, Avergan, Gandoman, Konrak, Imam Qais, De Nou, Behesht Abad, Gahro, Tishniz and Jooneghan are completely unstable.
 
Conclusion
According to the research results, exploitation systems in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces are not in favorable and stable conditions, and this unsustainability is more in peasant exploitation, which is the main form of exploitation in the province. These results emphasize the fact that the operations of the province need quick and calculated management and guidance in order to achieve stability and keep the village and rural economy stable. The best solution to these farms' problems is to pay attention to the production cooperative. In fact, to solve the problem of sustainability in the exploitation of peasants and cooperatives, first, the government should fully support the cooperatives and their members and have several educational and promotional programs to familiarize the villagers and guarantee the work of these cooperatives so that the cooperatives reach the benefits. Therefore, cooperatives can be a powerful arm in the field of production, services, information and marketing, and sales for rural farmers and can assume a decisive role in economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
 We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.