Report Summary

This report analyzes the psychological and social factors influencing the adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation behaviors among Iranian rice farmers. Rice cultivation is critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) but poses significant environmental challenges that conflict with SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) due to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and intensive water use. This study, conducted in Shushtar County, Iran, utilizes an integrated theoretical framework combining the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory to understand farmers’ decision-making processes. Analysis via structural equation modeling (SEM) reveals that TPB is more effective in explaining adaptation intentions, while VBN better clarifies mitigation behaviors. The integrated TPB-VBN model demonstrates superior explanatory power, accounting for 64.2% of the variance in adaptation intentions and 67.6% in mitigation intentions. These findings provide critical insights for developing policies that promote climate-smart agriculture, aligning rice production with global sustainability targets.

Introduction: Aligning Rice Cultivation with Sustainable Development Goals

The Challenge: Rice Farming’s Environmental Impact

Agriculture is fundamental to global food security and economic stability, yet it faces immense pressure from climate change. The need to increase food production to meet the demands of a growing population directly impacts several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): Rice is a staple food for over half the world’s population, making its sustainable production essential for global food security.
• SDG 13 (Climate Action): Conventional rice farming, particularly the use of flooded irrigation, is a major source of methane (CH4), a potent GHG. This practice creates anaerobic conditions, accelerating methane production and contributing significantly to climate change.
• SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): Rice cultivation is highly water-intensive, placing significant strain on freshwater resources, a challenge exacerbated by increasing water scarcity in many regions.

The agricultural sector is thus in a dual position: it is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change while also being a primary contributor to the GHG emissions driving it. Achieving sustainable food systems requires a transition to practices that reduce environmental impact while enhancing productivity and resilience.

The Response: Climate Action through Adaptation and Mitigation

To address these challenges, farmers can employ two main strategies, both central to achieving SDG 13 (Climate Action) and ensuring progress toward SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production):

1. Mitigation: Involves adopting low-carbon agricultural technologies to reduce GHG emissions.
2. Adaptation: Involves adjusting farming practices to cope with new environmental conditions caused by climate change.

This study aims to fill a research gap by examining the factors influencing both adaptation and mitigation behaviors among Iranian rice farmers, providing a comprehensive analysis to guide sustainable agricultural planning.

Theoretical Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Practices

To understand the drivers of farmers’ intentions, this study integrates two prominent psychological theories: the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory.

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

The TPB posits that behavioral intention is the primary predictor of behavior and is influenced by three core components:

• Attitude: An individual’s positive or negative evaluation of performing the behavior.
• Subjective Norms (SN): The perceived social pressure to engage or not engage in the behavior.
• Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC): The perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior, reflecting self-efficacy and resource availability.

Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory

The VBN theory provides a framework for understanding pro-environmental behavior through a causal chain of normative factors:

• Values: Core principles, categorized as egoistic (self-interest), altruistic (concern for others), and biospheric (concern for the environment).
• New Ecological Paradigm (NEP): An individual’s worldview regarding the relationship between humans and the environment.
• Awareness of Consequences (AC): The belief that environmental conditions pose a threat.
• Ascription of Responsibility (AR): The belief that one is responsible for those consequences.
• Personal Norms (PN): An internalized moral obligation to act.

Integrated TPB-VBN Model

By integrating TPB and VBN, this study provides a more holistic model. The VBN framework explains the role of values and moral obligations, which are often overlooked by the more rational-choice-oriented TPB. This combined approach allows for a deeper understanding of how both rational calculations and normative considerations shape farmers’ intentions to adopt sustainable practices that support key SDGs.

Research Methodology

Study Area and Participants

The research was conducted in Shushtar County, Khuzestan Province, Iran, a region characterized by an arid climate and significant rice production. The area faces severe water scarcity and heat stress, making the adoption of climate-smart agriculture a high priority for achieving SDG 6 and SDG 13. The study’s statistical population comprised all rice cultivators in the county, with a sample size of 385 farmers determined using the Krejcie and Morgan table. A stratified random sampling method was employed to ensure a representative sample.

Data Collection and Analysis

A structured questionnaire was developed based on a comprehensive literature review of TPB, VBN, and pro-environmental behaviors. The survey instrument’s validity and reliability were confirmed through expert review and statistical tests (Cronbach’s Alpha, Composite Reliability, and Average Variance Extracted). Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS software, which is well-suited for complex predictive models.

Key Findings on Farmer Decision-Making

Performance of Behavioral Models

The analysis of the individual models yielded distinct insights into farmer behavior, highlighting different pathways to achieving climate-related SDGs.

• TPB Model: This model was more effective at explaining adaptation behaviors, accounting for 42.6% of the variance in intention. This suggests that farmers’ decisions to adapt are largely driven by rational assessments of attitudes, social pressures, and perceived control.
• VBN Model: This model showed greater explanatory power for mitigation behaviors, accounting for 43.5% of the variance in intention. This indicates that long-term, pro-environmental actions like reducing GHG emissions are more strongly influenced by personal values and moral norms.

Analysis of the Integrated TPB-VBN Model

The integrated model demonstrated superior predictive power, confirming its value for a comprehensive understanding of farmer intentions.

• The combined model explained 64.2% of the variance in the intention to adopt adaptation strategies.
• The combined model explained 67.6% of the variance in the intention to adopt mitigation strategies.

Across all models, Personal Norms (PN) emerged as the most influential predictor of both adaptation and mitigation intentions. This underscores the critical role of an internalized sense of moral obligation in driving farmers toward sustainable practices that support SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Discussion: Implications for SDG Achievement

Rational vs. Normative Drivers for Climate Action

The findings confirm that different psychological drivers underpin adaptation and mitigation behaviors. Adaptation, which offers more immediate and personal benefits (e.g., resilience to drought), is better explained by the rational-choice framework of TPB. In contrast, mitigation, which provides long-term, collective benefits (e.g., reduced global warming), is more closely tied to the value-driven, moral framework of VBN. This distinction is crucial for designing targeted policies that effectively promote both types of climate action, contributing to SDG 2 and SDG 13.

Attitude was the strongest predictor within the TPB framework, indicating that fostering a positive view of climate-smart practices is essential. Subjective Norms and Perceived Behavioral Control were also significant, highlighting the importance of social influence and resource availability (e.g., training, financial support) in enabling farmers to adopt new methods.

The Central Role of Personal Norms in Driving Change

The VBN model results show a clear causal chain from values to behavior. Altruistic and biospheric values positively influenced pro-environmental worldviews (NEP), while egoistic values had a negative effect. This worldview, in turn, increased awareness of consequences and a sense of responsibility, activating personal norms. The overarching influence of Personal Norms in the integrated model suggests that appealing to farmers’ sense of moral duty to protect the environment and ensure a sustainable future is a powerful lever for change. This aligns directly with the principles of stewardship inherent in SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

Policy Recommendations for Sustainable Rice Production

Based on the findings, the following policy interventions are recommended to promote climate-smart rice farming and advance the SDGs:

1. Promote Positive Attitudes and Norms: Develop communication campaigns that highlight the benefits of sustainable practices for farm productivity (SDG 2) and environmental health (SDG 13). Utilize farmer cooperatives and local champions to leverage social norms and build collective motivation.
2. Enhance Perceived Behavioral Control: Provide targeted training programs and accessible financial incentives (e.g., subsidies for low-emission technologies) to improve farmers’ skills, confidence, and access to necessary resources. This addresses barriers to adopting practices that support SDG 6 and SDG 13.
3. Activate Moral Responsibility: Design educational initiatives that connect farming practices to their broader environmental consequences, fostering a sense of personal and collective responsibility (VBN). Emphasize the role of farmers as stewards of the land for future generations.
4. Integrate Adaptation and Mitigation Support: Create policies that support both adaptation and mitigation strategies simultaneously, recognizing their synergistic potential to build a resilient and low-carbon agricultural sector.

Conclusion and Study Limitations

This study successfully identified the key psychological and social determinants of Iranian rice farmers’ intentions to adopt climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The integrated TPB-VBN model proved highly effective, revealing that while rational factors drive adaptation, normative and value-based factors are crucial for mitigation. Personal Norms were identified as the most significant driver for both behaviors. These insights are vital for crafting policies that can effectively transition rice farming toward a model that supports SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) without compromising SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Limitations

• The study focused on behavioral intentions, which may not perfectly translate into actual behavior.
• The model, while robust, did not account for all variance, suggesting other variables could be incorporated in future research.
• Potential selection bias may exist, as farmers with stronger pro-environmental attitudes might have been more willing to participate.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: The article establishes rice as a “vital staple crop, feeding billions globally” and discusses the challenge of maintaining “sustainable productivity” to ensure “food security” for a growing global population. This directly connects to the goal of ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: The article highlights the significant water consumption of rice farming, stating that “rice fields require significantly more water than other major crops.” It discusses “traditional irrigation techniques” like “flooded irrigation” and the “growing concerns over water scarcity,” emphasizing the need for efficient water management. This aligns with the goal of ensuring sustainable water management.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The research focuses on achieving “sustainable food production” by “reducing environmental impacts” and promoting “climate-smart agricultural practices.” It addresses the inefficiency of conventional farming, such as GHG emissions from irrigation and fertilizer use, which connects to the goal of ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: This is the central theme of the article. It explicitly states that conventional rice farming is a “significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions” and a “key driver of climate change (CC).” The entire study is framed around understanding and promoting “climate change adaptation and mitigation behaviors” among farmers to combat climate change and its impacts.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality. The article’s focus on promoting “climate-smart agricultural practices” to maintain “sustainable productivity” and “enhancing resilience to climate-related risks” directly supports this target.
• Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity. The article’s discussion on the problems of “flooded irrigation,” “water scarcity,” and the need for “enhancing the efficiency of water and nutrient use in rice farming” aligns perfectly with this target.
• Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The study’s goal to “optimize resource use” and reduce the “environmental footprint” of rice cultivation by mitigating GHG emissions and improving water management directly relates to this target.
• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. The research explicitly examines farmers’ “adaptation behaviors,” which are defined as “adjusting farming practices to the new environmental conditions brought about by CC” to reduce susceptibility to its adverse effects.
• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The study aims to provide “policy solutions based on research evidence to promote sustainable agricultural planning,” which is a direct contribution to integrating climate action into policy.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for Target 2.4 & 13.1: The article’s central focus is on understanding the “adaptation and mitigation behaviors of Iranian rice farmers.” Therefore, the proportion of farmers adopting climate-smart, resilient, and low-carbon agricultural practices is a key implied indicator for measuring progress. The study analyzes the “intention to adopt” these behaviors, which is a precursor to this indicator.
• Indicator for Target 6.4: The article criticizes “water-intensive practices” like “flooded irrigation.” An implied indicator is the change in water-use efficiency in rice cultivation, measured by the volume of water used per unit of rice produced. A shift away from flooded irrigation to more efficient techniques would be a measure of progress.
• Indicator for Target 12.2 & 13: The article identifies rice cultivation as a major source of “methane (CH4) emissions,” a potent GHG. A direct indicator mentioned is the volume of greenhouse gas emissions (specifically methane and nitrous oxide) from the agricultural sector, particularly from rice farming. Reducing these emissions is a primary goal of the mitigation strategies discussed.
• Indicator for Target 13.2: The study’s objective to provide “policy solutions” and “promote sustainable agricultural planning” implies an indicator related to policy-making, such as the number of government policies or support mechanisms implemented to encourage the adoption of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in agriculture.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: nature.com