Extended Abstract
Introduction: Agriculture, as one of the most fundamental human activities, has always maintained a deep and inseparable connection with nature and the environment. This activity, which is essential for providing food and livelihoods for human societies, may inevitably have widespread impacts on natural resources such as water, soil, and biodiversity. Farmers, as main users of these resources, play a crucial role in either preserving or destroying the environment. How they treat nature is influenced by the teachings they have learned during their socialization process and through interaction with social and cultural structures of their living environment. This research aims to demonstrate how social and cultural contexts are effective in the formation of agricultural habits.
Method: This qualitative research was conducted using the grounded theory method. The participants included 33 farmers from the city of Azna who were selected through purposive sampling. Research data were collected via semi-structured interviews, and auditing technique was employed to validate data credibility.
Findings: Data analysis resulted in 10 main categories and one core category. The research findings indicate that the invisible hand mechanism of the market and land division between heirs as causal factors; and the unbalanced structure of the distribution system and the market for agricultural products as background factors have contributed to the marginalization of the farmers’ ecological habitus. Meanwhile, the prevailing spirit of commercialism in agriculture and the existence of property disputes among heirs and some farmers have led to a decrease in cooperation within the rural community in communal affairs, and sometimes the collapse of traditional networks of cooperation and assistance in the agricultural community, which in turn has further marginalized the ecological habitus of agriculture.
Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the invisible hand of the market and the division of land under the pretext of preserving the paternal heritage have gradually weakened traditional agricultural structures and have allowed the economic dimension to dominate other ecological, social and ethical aspects of agriculture. This study reveals that the above structural factors, interacting with the weakening social solidarity, have marginalized ecological habitus and pushed farmers towards environmentally destructive actions. Such actions have resulted in harmful environmental and social consequences such as loss of biodiversity, the expansion of monoculture, the spread of various diseases, threats to human health, and migration from the countryside. These findings highlight the urgent need to redesign support institutions and strengthen social capital in rural areas to promote sustainable agriculture.