Climate Change and Farmers' Transition to Industrial Society: Perceptions of Isfahan Province’s Farmers Regarding the Consequences of Climate Change and Industrialization

ABSTRACT
Climate change and industrialization represent two of the most significant environmental challenges of our time, having profound impacts on agricultural systems, particularly in semi-arid regions. This study employs a qualitative methodology and a grounded theory approach to explore the perceptions of farmers in Isfahan Province regarding the transition to an industrial society and its consequences for agriculture. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 29 farmers from diverse regions within the province and analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s three-stage coding process. The findings exhibited that farmers perceive "agricultural ecosystem degradation" as the main phenomenon, which has been shaped by factors such as high-carbon technological structures and industrial lifestyles. This degradation has been exacerbated by contextual factors such as population growth, pressure on natural resources, and ineffective government interventions in water resource management and crop pattern policies. Farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change have largely been profit-driven agriculture and overexploitation of land and natural resources.  These strategies have contributed to negative outcomes, including increased pest infestations, droughts, climate irregularities, and declining yields. The study emphasizes the urgent need to reevaluate industrial, agricultural, and environmental policies, advocating for the adoption of participatory, climate-sensitive approaches focused on environmental justice to ensure agricultural sustainability. It also highlights that, in the context of climate change, government policies must be more closely aligned with local conditions and address the educational and empowerment needs of farmers. Furthermore, the research underscores the importance of adopting multifaceted approaches in policymaking and resource management to improve agricultural conditions in vulnerable regions.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Climate change and industrialization are among the most significant environmental challenges of our time, with profound consequences for agricultural systems, particularly in semi-arid regions. Scientific evidence has firmly established that human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and industrial expansion, are the primary drivers of global warming and climate change. Despite major international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, the Climate Change Performance Index indicates that countries continue to underperform in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and implementing effective climate policies. In Isfahan Province, where agriculture plays a vital role in local livelihoods, the transition toward an industrial society has coincided with the spread of carbon-intensive technological structures and industrial lifestyles. Iran, as a developing country, is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including declining groundwater levels, drying lakes, persistent droughts, and extreme flooding. Temperature trends indicate increasing average minimum and maximum temperatures, while precipitation has decreased. Industrial activities in Isfahan have led to soil contamination with heavy metals that negatively affect crop quality. Annual precipitation in this province is less than one hundred millimeters, and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. While industrialization has facilitated economic growth, it has also intensified pressure on natural resources and disrupted ecological balance, contributing to the degradation of the agricultural ecosystem. These changes have reduced agricultural productivity and increased vulnerability to environmental risks. The present study aims to examine farmers’ perceptions of this transition and its agricultural implications, providing insight into the mechanisms that connect industrial expansion, environmental degradation, and local adaptive behavior. Unlike previous studies that have focused primarily on climatic and management factors, this research specifically addresses the structural role of industrialization as a driver of climate change from the perspective of farmers, filling a significant gap in the literature. Understanding farmers’ perspectives offers valuable guidance for designing more sustainable agricultural and environmental policies that reflect the realities of rural communities.
 
Methodology
This study employs a grounded theory qualitative research design, allowing theoretical insights to emerge from empirical data.  The grounded theory approach was selected because it enables researchers to build theoretical frameworks directly from participants’ lived experiences, making it particularly suitable for exploring complex social and environmental phenomena where existing theory is insufficient.  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 farmers across diverse regions of Isfahan Province to ensure variation in agroecological conditions and exposure to industrial activities.  The study areas included north, south, east, west, and central regions of the province.  Participants were selected using purposive and maximum variation sampling to capture diverse perspectives based on geographic location, crop type, farm size, and degree of exposure to industrial pollution and climate impacts.  Interviews lasted between forty-five and eighty minutes, were digitally recorded, and were transcribed verbatim.  All participants provided informed consent, and confidentiality was guaranteed. The interviews focused on farmers' perceptions of industrialization, climate change, and the changing dynamics of agricultural practices.  Data were analyzed utilizing Strauss and Corbin's three-stage coding process—open, axial, and selective coding—to identify the causal and contextual factors shaping the degradation of the agricultural ecosystem.  Sixty-nine initial concepts were identified in the open coding phase. These were organized into 12 axial categories during axial coding and, finally, integrated around a central phenomenon during selective coding. This process enabled the classification of patterns related to environmental pressures, institutional responses, and adaptive strategies. To ensure trustworthiness and credibility, three validation methods were employed: triangulation, member checking, and analytical comparison. The analytical framework highlighted how carbon-intensive technological structures and industrial lifestyles intersect with policy deficiencies and climate variability, producing cumulative impacts on local agriculture.
 
Results and discussion
The findings reveal that, from the farmers’ perspective, the central phenomenon is the degradation of the agricultural ecosystem, manifested in declining soil fertility, reduced water availability, loss of biodiversity, and increased pest outbreaks. This phenomenon emerged from the integration of all twelve axial categories around a core category that farmers consistently identified as the primary challenge facing their livelihoods. Farmers identified the widespread adoption of carbon-intensive technological structures—such as mechanized irrigation, deep wells, heavy machinery, and chemical fertilizers—as major contributors to this degradation. Farmers explicitly described how industrial pollution from nearby factories has destroyed orchards and reduced crop quality. They criticized the inappropriate placement of industries near agricultural lands and residential areas, noting that industrial facilities consume large amounts of water while releasing pollutants that damage soil, water, and air quality. While these technologies initially improved productivity, they have led to energy dependency, environmental depletion, and disruption of traditional agricultural systems. The emergence of industrial lifestyles, characterized by high energy consumption, urbanization, and changing consumption patterns, further amplifies these challenges by increasing demand for natural resources and altering social values toward short-term profit and convenience. Farmers explicitly linked modern construction materials such as asphalt and concrete, increased vehicle use, and household heating appliances to rising local temperatures. They observed that in the past, soil surfaces absorbed less heat, while modern paved surfaces radiate significantly more heat into the environment. The increased number of vehicles and continuous operation of heating devices during winter were also identified as contributing factors to temperature rise and air pollution.
Farmers, in addition to technological and lifestyle factors, pointed to contextual pressures such as population growth and competition over land and water. Farmers reported that population growth has led to greater demand for water and land resources, while the number of deep wells remains insufficient to meet agricultural needs. They noted that in past decades, when the population was smaller, land was abundant, but now land has become scarce relative to the population, making agriculture economically unviable for many families. The overexploitation of groundwater and the conversion of agricultural land to industrial or urban use have exacerbated environmental stress. Participants also emphasized the ineffectiveness of government interventions, particularly in water resource management and crop pattern policies. Farmers reported that government policies often prohibit water-intensive crops while providing insufficient alternatives. However, many farmers continue planting these crops unofficially because the proposed substitute crops do not provide adequate income. The integration of agricultural lands, intended to improve water efficiency, has created new problems, such as a lack of access roads and conflicts among farmers. Farmers also reported injustice in the distribution of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and seeds, as well as ineffective water management. They expressed strong dissatisfaction with the diversion of water from the Zayandeh River to other provinces, which they believe has directly caused drought conditions and the drying of the Gavkhuni wetland. Although these programs seek to conserve resources and guide sustainable practices, they are often implemented in a top-down manner and fail to consider local realities, resource limitations, or farmers’ traditional knowledge. Farmers also reported that laws and regulations change frequently and unpredictably, creating legal uncertainty. Wells that were legal for decades are suddenly declared illegal, and farmers face the threat of having their wells sealed or their orchards destroyed. This constant legal instability undermines farmers’ ability to plan for the long term and invest in sustainable practices. This divergence between policy design and local practice undermines trust and diminishes the effectiveness of state-led initiatives.
Confronted with inadequate institutional support, many farmers have turned to profit-driven agricultural practices—such as monoculture, intensive irrigation, and the unsustainable exploitation of land and water resources—as survival strategies. Farmers reported using excessive chemical fertilizers because consumers prefer visually appealing produce, and organic or naturally grown produce is smaller and less commercially attractive. They also described continuous land use without fallow periods, noting that in the past farmers rotated crops and allowed land to rest. However, now economic pressure forces them to cultivate without interruption. Some farmers reported cultivating previously untouched lands without awareness of the environmental consequences, simply because older lands have become exhausted and unproductive. While these methods provide short-term financial relief, they intensify environmental degradation and reduce long-term sustainability. The interplay of industrialization, policy inefficiency, and climate change has created a feedback loop in which environmental decline reinforces economic pressure, compelling farmers to adopt increasingly unsustainable practices. Farmers reported that pest outbreaks have become as severe as drought, requiring continuous pesticide applications. They described how rising temperatures have led to new pest infestations that were previously unknown in their regions. Some farmers noted that they now have to apply multiple types of pesticides to the same crop, including fungicides, insecticides, and strengthening fertilizers, to achieve minimal yields.
Farmers also associate climate change with more frequent droughts, irregular rainfall, temperature extremes, and shifting growing seasons, all of which directly threaten yields. Farmers described how unexpected warm periods in winter cause premature flowering, followed by sudden frosts that destroy all blossoms. They reported that spring frosts and summer heat waves have become unpredictable, making planting decisions extremely difficult. Some farmers noted that soil quality has degraded to the point that land absorbs all available water without supporting plant growth, and that once-perennial springs and snow-covered mountain areas have now completely dried up. These environmental and economic stresses have driven rural migration, weakened intergenerational interest in farming, and deepened inequalities between industrial and agricultural sectors.
 
Conclusion
The study concludes that the agricultural challenges in Isfahan Province stem from the combined effects of industrialization, carbon-intensive technological systems, industrial lifestyles, and climate variability, all compounded by ineffective government interventions. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from environmental sociology, this research demonstrates that incomplete modernity—characterized by the spread of carbon-based systems and the separation of nature from society—has produced a situation where farmers are caught between environmental degradation and inadequate institutional support. The agricultural ecosystem degradation documented in this study serves as a concrete manifestation of what theorists call the crisis of unfinished modernity and the Anthropocene. The result is the persistent degradation of the agricultural ecosystem, manifested in soil depletion, water scarcity, and declining productivity. Farmers' adaptive responses, while understandable within their economic constraints, tend to exacerbate environmental degradation and increase long-term vulnerability. The feedback loop identified in this study—where environmental decline reinforces economic pressure, which in turn drives further unsustainable practices—represents a critical challenge for policymakers. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive reevaluation of industrial, agricultural, and environmental policies. Policymakers are advised to adopt participatory, climate-sensitive approaches that prioritize environmental justice, integrate local knowledge, and empower farmers through education and access to sustainable technologies. Reform in water resource management and crop pattern policies should be context-specific and informed by farmers' lived experiences. Moreover, incentive systems should promote low-carbon, water-efficient farming methods that balance environmental sustainability with economic resilience.
This study, by centering on farmers' perceptions within a grounded theory framework, provides a nuanced understanding of how industrial and climatic transformations interact at the local level. It highlights the urgency of rethinking industrialization trajectories in rural Iran. It underscores the need for multi-layered policy solutions that ensure the long-term sustainability of agriculture in semi-arid regions.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
The first author was responsible for conceptualizing the research, developing the conceptual framework, conducting data collection, conducting interviews, coding and analyzing data using a grounded theory approach, and drafting the introduction and findings sections. The second author contributed to the literature review, the design of the research process based on grounded theory, data collection, and writing the methodology section. The third author participated in the coding process, data analysis, category development, and writing the findings and discussion sections. The fourth author contributed to data interpretation, scientific editing, content review, writing the conclusion, and final revision of the manuscript. All authors participated in reviewing and approving the final version of the manuscript.
 
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the authorship or publication of this article.
 
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to all participants for their cooperation.