samaneh mahzari

Wheat plays a dominant role in global food security as it contributes almost 20% of the total dietary calories and proteins worldwide. Economic measures can promote the development of Conservation Agriculture (CA), and due to their correlation with socioeconomic sectors, CA measures can affect the whole socioeconomic system. Many studies have been conducted on the benefits of CA, but considering that economic factors are one of the important factors for accepting the principles of CA, however, many economic analyzes have not been conducted on the impact of CA on costs, especially in Iran. Knowledge of the profitability of agricultural management methods can be a suitable basis for making favorable decisions to move toward CA. Considering that financial profitability in the Initial phase of CA (IP-CA) may be controversial, this study is aimed at estimating the cost of wheat production in two systems CT and IP-CA of Golestan province.

7 study sites Bandar Gaz, Kordkoy, Gorgan. Bandar Torkman, Agh Qala, Azad Shahr and, Galiksh, which have the largest area under cultivation and exploiting CA and CT (Conventional Tillage) were selected in Golestan province north of Iran. In this study, the treatments included CA and CT, and it was possible to compare the treatments at the same time in 7 sites and 84 farmers who managed two CA and CT lands together and CA had been implemented in them for 3-6 years were selected and sites were in the initial phase of CA. Agricultural inputs, including the consumption of seeds, water, Poisons, chemical fertilizers, labor, and agricultural machines, were considered as production costs. In this study, the profitability of each CA and CT system was investigated using cost and income information. Then, using the Translog Cost Function, the effect of CA technology on input demand and production costs was investigated.

The use of CA in the production of wheat has reduced the consumption of agricultural inputs other than poison; so, the largest decrease of 45.48% belongs to the labor force and the smallest decrease of 15.62% belongs to the seed. Greater production cost under CT respectively was due to higher labor force, use of agricultural machinery, and water cost. The amount of poison consumption was higher in CA than CT, except in Kordkoy sites. Generally, the cost of poisons under CT was the lowest than in CA. The highest weed control cost under CA could be associated with higher weed seed bank near the soil surface, and maximized germination potential of fresh weed seed due to residual burying. The use of CA has led to a reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers; So, the biggest decrease of 33.33% is assigned to Agh Qala site. Conservation agriculture has led to a decrease in the workforce in all cities. The average production of wheat crops in Golestan province in 2021 in CA was 8.45% higher compared to CT. The gross profit in CA and CT systems is calculated as approximately 122 and 94 million Rials per hectare respectively, which in CA is approximately 28 million Rials (30.50%) more than in CT. The average production cost of each kilogram of wheat in one hectare is 54,641 Rials under CT and 43,289 Rials under CA and in fact, the cost of producing one kilogram of wheat in CA decreased by almost 20%.

In this study, CA, on the one hand, as a result of reducing production costs, led to a reduction in production costs, and on the other hand, due to the higher production of wheat, it increased income per hectare. In this study resulted that IP-CA has been able to manage the use of agricultural institutions in a better way, which leads to a reduction in production costs and an increase in production IP-CA, in addition to saving wheat production costs, has indirect social benefits for farmers. Reducing the need for labor creates new economic opportunities for farmers, and saving time creates new businesses and generates non-agricultural income. If the economic benefits of CA, along with its numerous benefits such as reducing carbon dioxide, more water efficiency and, most importantly preserving the soil of this valuable trust, are all included in the calculations, it shows the very high value of CA for the economic and social future and environment.

In water efficiency studies, the values of runoff, evapotranspiration and range production are the main variables. Rangelands of Golestan province, Iran, have a high potential of run-off due to the geographical location, climate, and destruction of these resources as well as drastic land use change from forests and rangelands to agricultural lands. Therefore, in the present study, in order to determine the best management of rangelands, we developed a rangeland improvement model using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in the Gorganrud Watershed, Golestan Iran. Calibration and validation of model was performed using Sequential Uncertainty Fitting Program (SUFI-2) in the eco-hydrological model SWAT. For this purpose, the SWAT was calibrated and validated for a 31-year period of discharge and 5-year period of range production and then the model was executed for different scenarios of rangeland management. The results showed that the model performance was satisfactory for predicting discharge. The values of Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient were calculated to be 0.72, 0.71 and 0.64 in calibration period and 0.59, 0.48 and 0.53 in validation period for Basirabad, Tilabad and Haji Ghoshan stations, respectively. As well, four range improvement scenarios (mechanical, biological, biomechanical and livestock grazing management) were defined in this study. On average, by applying mechanical, biological, biomechanical, and grazing management scenarios evapotranspiration was increased to 2.3%, 12.8%, 15.5% and 2.8%, respectively, in comparison with actual evapotranspiration. According to the obtained results, the biomechanical scenario was identified as the best one in increasing evapotranspiration in poor and moderate rangelands.