Farmers' intention process toward forming water users associations: A psychological analysis

Sustainable management of water resources in Iran's arid regions requires farmers' active participation in water users associations (WUAs). However, understanding the process of farmers' intention to participate in WUAs is limited. This study aimed to analyze the psychological and situational mechanisms associated with farmers' intention to form WUAs in the Kavar Plain of Fars Province, using the Comprehensive Action Determination Model (CADM). As a multidimensional framework, this model allows for the simultaneous examination of intentional, normative, habitual, and situational processes. Data were collected from 303 selected farmers using stratified random sampling, and analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling with AMOS software. The results indicated that attitude toward WUAs was the strongest predictor of farmers' behavioral intention (β = 0.501). Subsequently, associations and perceived structural constraints and subjective constraints had positive and significant association with intention. It was also shown that awareness of need was the only significant predictor of personal norms, while subjective constraints were the only factor associated with habit formation. The final model accounted for 36.8% of the variance in behavioral intention. Overall, the results indicate that in the context of the water crisis, cognitive-functional factors and perceived barriers were more strongly associated with participation intention than social norms. The practical implications of the research emphasize that policymakers should focus on strengthening positive attitudes, increasing awareness of need, and reducing perceived and structural barriers in order to provide a basis for farmers' sustainable participation in WUAs.