Simultaneous Fulfillment of the Agricultural Sector Economic Goals, Affected by Limited Water Resources in the Framework of the Iran’s Sixth Development Plan: A Case Study of Yazd Province

The importance of the economic and environmental role of the agricultural sector and limitation of water resources, planning is a necessary tool for achieving the maximum objectives of the agricultural sector. In this study, in order to evaluate the simultaneous fulfillment of multiple economic goals in the agricultural sector of Yazd province including increasing production, employment, productivity and minimizing water consumption based on the objectives of the Sixth Development Plan, a combination of Goal Programming and Input-Output models were used. The present study is important and innovative in terms of evaluating the simultaneous fulfillment of sector objectives and related modeling with emphasis on the water factor. based on the productivity, modeling was done in three scenarios. Based on the findings, it is impossible to achieve the goals of the sector simultaneously within the goals of the particular plan due to limited available water. The objectives of production and employment in the sector are not necessarily the same. Also, it is not possible to achieve the ideal amount of production level with the current state of water consumption efficiency. Accordingly, while paying attention to the key element of water, it is necessary to consider the proposed model of this research and its outputs in the definition of agricultural sector development goals. Operation of productive activities with emphasis on preparing and implementing a suitable cultivation pattern in each region is also a basic condition for achieving the maximum goals of the sector.