The Perception of Greenhouse Owners about Environmental, Economical and Social Aspects of Sustainable Agriculture in Iran

Emphasis on sustainable agriculture in Iran like the other developing countries, is responsedto the adverse environmental and economic impacts of conventional agriculture. Thisproblem, particularly about “greenhouse production” is considerable. The perceptions ofgreenhouse owners about the environmental, economical and social aspects of sustainableagriculture was discussed in this article. The research in terms of nature is a kind ofquantitative research and in terms of goal is applied research, in terms of controlling thevariables is descriptive and correlation kind, which has been carried out in a survey way. Thetarget population for this study consisted greenhouse owners in the Province of Tehran(N=1787). By multi-stage cluster sampling technique, 306 were selected. Data werecollected through interview schedules. The regression analysis showed that the farming andpolicy making factors determined 26 percent of variance on the perception of respondentsregarding the environmental aspect of sustainable agriculture. Also, 19 percent of thevariance on perception of respondents about economical aspect of sustainable agriculturecould be explained by economical and policy making factors. In addition, 33 percent of thevariance on perception of respondents about social aspect of sustainable agriculture could beexplained by farming and extension/education factors.