An analysis of the barriers to using climate information services to build a resilient agricultural system in Iran

In recent years, applying climate information services (CIS) have attracted the attention of policymakers as one of the risk management approaches, and they consider it a key element for the adaptation of farmers to build a resilient livelihood. Scientists believe that using CIS can reduce the negative effects of climate change and make farmers more sustainable in the agricultural sector and rural areas. However, in developing countries, some limitations prevent the effective and efficient use of this information by farmers. To discover these constraints in the agricultural sector of southwestern Iran, 390 farmers were examined using a questionnaire in a survey study. The results of the coefficient of variation in the prioritization of barriers to the using CIS in the farmers' sector based on the farmers' point of view showed that the two factors of "nontimely delivery of information" and "unreliability of information and data" were the most important barriers to using CIS. While the two factors of "lack of proper planning and purpose in agricultural activities" and "farmers' resistance to change and emphasis on traditional methods" were less important than other factors. The results of the factor analysis classified the barriers to using CIS in the agricultural sector into five categories including managerial-technical, social-cultural, educational communication, infrastructural, and psychological factors, which were able to explain 69.68% of the variance of the total factors. The findings of this research, while adding new knowledge to the existing knowledge in the field of research, can also be useful in planning and policymaking for applying CIS in the agricultural sector.