Land ownership rights enhance farmers' attitudes toward soil and soil conservation behavior: Insights from Iran

There are contradicting reports in the literature regarding the relationship between land ownership rights and the adoption of agricultural conservation practices. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of farmers' land ownership rights on their attitudes toward soil, their soil science knowledge, and their soil conservation behavior. Likewise, we examined the effects of farmers' attitudes toward soil and their soil science knowledge on their soil conservation behavior. This study involved 150 male potato growers located in the Hamadan-Bahar Plain, Iran. Surveys were used for data collection. Farmers' attitudes toward soil emerged as a moderate predictor of their soil conservation actions (r = 0.44, p < 0.01), whereas their understanding of soil science was a weak predictor of their behavior (r = 0.16, p < 0.05). Likewise, a weak positive correlation emerged between farmers' attitudes toward soil and their comprehension of soil science (r = 0.16, p < 0.05). Notably, landowners exhibited increased positive attitudes toward soil and enhanced soil conservation behavior, compared to land tenants (t-test, p < 0.001), whereas there were no statistically significant differences between landowners and land tenants with respect to their comprehension of soil science. Our findings support the notion that, on rented land, barriers exist preventing the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. This highlights the need for policy makers and extension services to improve to develop programs that support land tenants' soil conservation behaviors.