Journal of Agricultural Economics & Development
Iranian Agricultural Economics Society (IAES)

Challenges of Sustainability in Grazing-Based Livestock Production Systems under Climate Change (Case Study: Kermanshah Province)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Sh. Nejatian
H. Shabanali Fami
N. Motiei

Department of Agricultural Management and Development, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Development, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/jead.2026.94239.1361
Abstract
Introduction
The rapid growth of the global population, ongoing climate change, and limited production resources have intensified concerns about food security. Sustainable food production systems, particularly grazing-based livestock production, play a vital role in addressing these challenges. However, these systems face numerous obstacles in developing countries and arid/semi-arid regions, including heavy reliance on natural resources, climate change impacts, and drought vulnerability, lower efficiency compared to other production methods, high greenhouse gas emissions, and competition for agricultural land allocated to feed production. Additionally, high operational costs and susceptibility to livestock diseases have significantly reduced both the profitability and sustainability of these systems. In Iran, livestock production systems remain predominantly traditional and are evaluated as unsustainable in terms of environmental, economic, and social indicators. Kermanshah Province, with approximately 2,500 rangeland systems and 63,000 rural and nomadic households, represents one of the most important livestock production hubs in western Iran. However, the presence of 1.4 million livestock units exceeding rangeland carrying capacity, combined with significant climatic changes over the past three decades (including rising temperatures, declining precipitation, and intensifying droughts), has made this region an ideal case study for examining sustainability challenges in livestock production systems. This study aims to identify and analyze the challenges facing livestock production systems in relation to climate change impacts in Kermanshah Province.

Materials and Methods
This research was conducted in Kermanshah Province, located in the middle part of the Zagros Mountains. Kermanshah Province, as one of the livestock breeding hubs in the Middle Zagros, plays an important role in providing livestock feed from rangelands. The province contains approximately 2,500 rangeland systems supporting about 63,000 rural and nomadic households. These households primarily rely on rangeland grazing to meet their livestock feed requirements. Based on forage production capacity, the rangelands can sustainably support only 1.5 million livestock units, while the current livestock population exceeds this capacity by approximately 1.4 million units. Recent studies indicate significant climatic changes in the province over recent decades, particularly increased drought intensity and duration, which have directly impacted natural forage availability and threatened the sustainability of livestock production systems. Methodologically, this quantitative, applied research employed a survey approach. The study population consisted of 140 experts and specialists in livestock production and natural resources management from Kermanshah Province, with 131 participants studied through census method (with 93 % rate of return) based on their research and practical experience in livestock production systems and associated challenges. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, designed through literature review and interviews with livestock production experts. Content validity was assessed by agricultural and natural resources experts from Kermanshah and faculty members from the University of Tehran's Agricultural Management Department. Discriminant validity was confirmed using average variance extracted (AVE). Reliability was evaluated through Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Data processing utilized SPSS 27 and Smart PLS 3 software packages.

Results and Discussion
The findings revealed that the most critical sustainability challenges for grazing-based livestock systems in Kermanshah Province were, in order of significance: environmental (β=0.756), economic (β=0.683), managerial (β=0.669), technical (β=0.593), social (β=0.563), and legal challenges (β=0.454). Environmental challenges emerged as the foremost sustainability barrier, underscoring their pivotal role in determining the overall sustainability of pastoral livestock systems according to expert assessments. Among environmental factors, climate variability and drought (factor loading=0.858) were identified as the most severe environmental challenges. Given that climate change impacts are projected to exacerbate system vulnerability - particularly when combined with rapid population growth and economic development that intensify food demand - these findings highlight the urgent need for adaptive strategies to mitigate climatic effects. Economic challenges represented the second most significant sustainability obstacle. Within this category, high prices for production inputs and animal feed (factor loading = 0.856) emerged as the most prominent economic constraint. This finding reflects the substantial financial burden on pastoralists for procuring inputs and animal feed, which increases production costs and may compromise their capacity for sustainable rangeland utilization. Managerial challenges ranked third, with poor community organization in local associations for coordinated action and inadequate service provision (factor loading=0.837) representing critical management shortcomings. Technical challenges represented another key sustainability barrier, where low productivity of grazing livestock was identified as a fundamental technical constraint. This emphasizes the importance of enhancing livestock productivity to improve overall system efficiency and profitability in the province. Social challenges ranked fifth, with insufficient awareness and knowledge regarding drought management and its impacts on rangelands (factor loading=0.853) being the primary social challenge. This underscores the critical need for educational interventions to improve pastoralists' understanding of drought management and rangeland conservation. Finally, legal challenges (β=0.454) were ranked as the least severe sustainability obstacle. Within this category, insufficient government budgeting and credit allocation for natural resource conservation and rangeland management (factor loading=0.874) emerged as the most significant legal constraint. This hierarchical challenge structure provides valuable insights for prioritizing intervention strategies to enhance the sustainability of grazing-based livestock systems in semi-arid regions.

Conclusion
Understanding these challenges can contribute to developing practical solutions for enhancing the sustainability of these systems. To improve the sustainability of livestock production systems, several strategies are proposed, including: establishing local cooperatives, enhancing access to technical training, developing innovative technologies, and providing financial support to livestock producers.

Keywords

Climate change
Grazing-based
Livestock production systems
Sustainability
Subjects

Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

 

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  • Receive Date 03 July 2025
  • Revise Date 19 January 2026
  • Accept Date 28 January 2026
  • First Publish Date 28 January 2026

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