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Samar Mortazavi

Samar Mortazavi

Academic rank: Assistant Professor
ORCID:
Education: PhD.
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Faculty: Natural Resources and Enviroments
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Research

Title
Optimizing cultivation of agricultural products using socio-economic and environmental scenarios
Type
JournalPaper
Keywords
Optimizing . Multiple criteria analysis. Agricultural products. Fertilizers. Pesticides. Golestan Province
Year
2016
Journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
DOI
Researchers Samar Mortazavi

Abstract

The combination of degrading natural conditions and resources, climate change, growing population, urban development, and competition in a global market complicate optimization of land for agricultural products. The use of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production in the agricultural fields has become excessive in the recent years and Golestan Province of Iran is no exception in this regard. For this, effective management with an efficient and cost-effective practice should be undertaken, maintaining public service at a high level and preserving the environment. Improving the production efficiency of agriculture, efficient use of water resources, decreasing the use of pesticidesand fertilizers,improving farmer revenue,and conservation of natural resources arethemain objectives of the allocation, ranking, and optimization of agricultural products. The goal of this paper is to use an optimization proceduretolowerthe negative effects of agriculture while maintaininga high production rate,whichiscurrentlya gap in the study area. We collected information about fertilizer and pesticide consumption and other data in croplands of eastern Golestan Province through face-to-face interviews with farmers to optimize cultivation of the agricultural products. The toxicity of pesticides according to LD50 was also included in the optimization model. A decisionsupport software system called multiple criteria analysis tool was used to simultaneously minimize consumption of water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides and maximize socio-economic returns. Three scenarios for optimization of agricultural products were generated that alternatively emphasized on environmental and socio-economic goals. Comparing socio-economic and environmental performance of the optimized agricultural products under the three scenarios illustrated the conflict between social, economic, and environmental objectives. Of the six crops studied (wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, oilseed rape, and maize), rice