Water-saving and sustainable cropping patterns; a case study in Mahidasht and Ravansar-Sanjabi Plain, Iran

Preventing the degradation of soil and water resources, mitigating their associated economic and social impacts, and promoting agricultural sustainability through optimal cropping patterns have become major priorities for agricultural policymakers. This study aims to reduce water resource consumption, optimize the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and enhance income and employment opportunities within the agricultural sector. For this purpose, 350 questionnaires were completed through random classification sampling in 2018–2019 in Mahidasht and Ravansar-Sanjabi in Kermanshah province, Iran. Subsequently, water-saving and sustainable cropping patterns were developed using fuzzy fractional goal programming, incorporating technical constraints related to production and livestock feed requirements. The results revealed that the physical productivity of water resources, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and the farming employment to water resources ratio increased by about 21.4%, 3.3%, 2.5%, and 25%, respectively. The stabilization of net income, 3% improvement in farming employment, 3.2% and 2.5% reduction in chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and 30 million m3 equivalent to a 17.6% reduction in water resources consumption were other characteristics of the proposed cropping pattern. Therefore, according to the general and regional goals of policymakers, the implementation of the suggested cropping pattern should be a priority that requires the development of legal requirements, incentive, and punitive policies, and the use of agricultural promoters.