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Abstract

Too much use of production inputs for increasing yield in more recent decades has caused a lot of environmental damage, therefore more attention has been placed in studying the sustainability and continuability of production system along with preserving the renewable natural resources. The goal of the present research is to measure, analyse and exploit the sustainability of wheat production in Tehran province. Surveying method has been the main approach while multi-stage stratified sampling method used to select the samples. Data has been collected through questionnaires, from 240 wheat producers, during 1999-2000 cropping season, from 42 villages in Tehran province. Results of the analysis show that 46.7 percent of production systems are much to very much unsustainable; 43.6 percent are less unsustainable and 9.7 percent are much to very much sustainable. The results of path analysis show that total production, total factor productivity as well as technical-agronomic knowledge of wheat producers have the most positive effects, while monthly household’s expenses, the rates of using labour and agricultural machinery have the more negative effects on the sustainability of wheat production systems.

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