A Quantitative Assessment of The Impacts of Agricultural Development, With A Focus on Food Security and Desertification Risk in The Balajam Plain of Torbat Jam County, Khorasan Razavi Province

Desertification is a serious threat to both natural and human environments. UNCCD (1994) defines desertification as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas that is caused by various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Despite being an international definition, it does not address the decrease in biological diversity. Additionally, this process cannot be reversed and has expanded to other biological climates, including the European continent, resulting in deficiencies that require attention. The world's environment has become one of the most important concerns due to the changing land use since the last century (22, 29). The sustainability of the environment is threatened by many agricultural activities, even though agriculture is a vital factor in sustainable development and poverty reduction (19). The relationship between food security and basic resources such as water, soil, as well as natural resources and the environment is of particular importance (3, 9, 31). The expansion of desertification will occur when the productive capacity of land resources decreases. The objective of this research was to evaluate these two effects, namely Examining some criteria for agricultural development, as well as the key criteria for land degradation and desertification, and emphasizing the issue of food security in Balajam Plain, Torbat Jam County, in Khorasan Razavi province.

This study evaluated and analyzed positive criteria for agricultural development, including performance, production, employment, and investment. The Iranian Model of Desertification Potential Assessment (IMDPA) was used to assess desertification intensity based on key indicators such as climate, underground water, soil, agriculture and landuse changes criteria (2, 5, 33, 41). This research was carried out between 2011 and 2021. Finally, the outcomes obtained from the food security indicators supplied by FAO were compared and evaluated (16, 37, 40). No research has been conducted to assess the positive and negative aspects of agricultural development, with a focus on food security. This research was conducted in Balajam Plain in Torbat Jam county of Khorasan Razavi province.

The foundation of economic, social, cultural, and political security is food security. Food security is based on ecological security, which is the security of fundamental natural resources and genetic diversity. The agricultural development sector has seen an increase in investment in institutions and human resources from 2011 to 2021. Over the past 10 years, from 2011 to 2021, agriculture has developed in Balajam Plain of Torbat Jam County, and the amount of investment in this sector has also increased (Tables 4-7). The results showed that the area under cultivation of crops in the Balajam plain has increased from 2011 to 2021, reaching from 50.25km2 in 2011 to 77.76km2 in 2021 (Table 8). The statistics on agricultural and horticultural crops indicate that some crops have seen a decrease in production and yield, while others have seen an increase. The increase in saffron cultivation has resulted in an upward trend in the added value of the products, which indicates increased income and increased food security. The results showed that land use change, a decrease in soil quality indicators and an increase in drought have reduced groundwater in terms of has reduced qualitatively and quantitatively (Figures 2 and 5). According to the IMDPA model's findings, desertification intensity in the study area has increased from moderate to moderate and severe in 2016 and 2021 (Figure 6). The desertification in Balajam Plain increased in 2016 and 2021, and many areas of the study areas are now dealing with an increased desertification phenomenon. The intensity of desertification in the Balajam Plain has increased despite the development of the agricultural sector in the past 10 years.

FAO has emphasized the need to implement sustainable land management practices, food production, and prevent the expansion of desertification in order to achieve food security and agricultural development (12). Unsustainable agricultural development, climate change, soil degradation, and the reduction in the quantity and quality of groundwater resources are among the human factors affecting desertification (24). The results of some studies showed that agricultural development has improved food access and promoted food security (28), but the results of this study showed that despite agricultural development and increased investment in the Balajam Plain, desertification occurred between 2011 and 2021. The results of this study showed that land use changes to agricultural lands, soil degradation, quantitative and qualitative decline in groundwater, and climate change in the study area have caused desertification, and if current conditions continue, desertification will intensify. Although agricultural development has expanded between 2011 and 2021, the adverse consequences of desertification, land degradation, and the reduction of the ecological capacity of water and soil resources have not been addressed. Therefore, implementing sustainable agricultural development is one of the important strategies for sustainable land management according to FAO (12). In the years 2011 to 2021, investment in agriculture and mechanization has increased and the cultivation pattern has changed. Currently, instead of plants with high water requirements, plants with low water requirements but high economic potential are used. Therefore, it is expected that by changing the cultivation pattern and achieving sustainable development in the future, the expansion of desertification will be reduced in the study area. Investment in institutional infrastructure, employment, and agricultural product yield all benefit from development in Balajam Plain, and is a key example of creating food security in society. The negative impacts of agricultural development, such as the quantitative and qualitative degradation of underground water, soil degradation, and the switch to agricultural land use, as well as the climatic expansion of desertification, are visible. Agriculture and food security are particularly important in the 7th five-year development plan of the country politicians, decision-makers should also consider knowledge-based agricultural development management plans and methods instead of source-oriented. According to these results, it can be seen that the Balajam Plain has been experiencing an increase in desertification between 2011 and 2021. Therefore, agricultural development is very effective in enhancing food security, and with development in this sector, food security will increase. But the region's production of agricultural products has decreased due to the intensity of desertification. The authors of this study suggest solutions such as - cultivating crops with low water requirements and modifying planting patterns, - investing in implementing projects to combat desertification and developing knowledge-based rather than resource-based agriculture.