Agricultural land use change in Gilan, Iran

Sheikh-Hassani, Gholan-Hassan (1987) Agricultural land use change in Gilan, Iran. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Gilan is a small, densely populated province situated on the Caspian Sea in northen Iran. Unlike most other provinces it has an abundant rainfall throughout the year and this helps to give the region a special character which is reflected in its agriculture. Cash crops have long been grown there. Change in the region's agricultural land use between about 1960 and 1978 is the subject of the research reported in this thesis. The core lies in three chapters (4, 5 and 6) which analyse, compare and seek to explain the land use of two villages chosen, after careful consideration, as likely to be representative of the different parts of the lowland. Detailed data was collected in them during 1979 and questionnairs were completed for 232 farmers. The questionnaire material was analysed in a simple tabular fashion, whilst generalised land use maps were produced from information collected during field work. Land use is reviewed as far as possible in its social and economic context. The village studies are preceded by chapters which provide a setting against which developments in their land use can be understood. The introduction outlines the aims and methods of the research and the problems encountered, chiefly in producing reliable data sets. Chapter 2 describes the physical and social character of the region, as well as reviewing the existing literature on Gilan. Chapter 3 is mainly concerned with the character of land use in the province, but sets this against the background of government planning for agriculture on the national scale, including the introduction of a land use programme and the extension of irrigation. The importance of rice, tobacco, tea and mulberries in the province is brought out, though there are many local variations. The two villages were chosen precisely to reflect some of the major variations. The final chapter (7) discusses the extent to which the experiences of the two villages can be considered typical of the region as a whole. The change over from short grain to long grain varieties of rice was found throughout the lowland and is closely connected with improvements in irrigation. Experience in growing the other major crops seems to have varied. Methods, though, remained traditional and demanded large amounts of labour, both male and female. Nonetheless, the introduction of mechanical tillers and chemical fertilisers had important consequences. These varied from place to place and with the amount of land owned by the farmers. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for dealing with the major problems which affect land use in lowland Gilan and for extending research there.

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