*Article* **Relationship between Indigenous Knowledge Development in Agriculture and the Sustainability of Water Resources**

**Ali Sardar Shahraki 1, Thomas Panagopoulos 2,\*, Hajar Esna Ashari <sup>3</sup> and Ommolbanin Bazrafshan <sup>4</sup>**


**Abstract:** The relationship between agricultural knowledge and water management is very important. Indigenous knowledge in agriculture can improve the water crisis situation and alleviate water stress from dry and semi-arid areas. Therefore, the combination of these two impacts can improve the agricultural sector and reduce the effects of drought. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting indigenous knowledge and the sustainable management of water resources for optimal water use in agriculture in the Sistan region of Iran. Alongside field research and interviews with 40 indigenous experts and experts from the Jihad-e-Agriculture sector of the Sistan region, the required information was collected by means of a questionnaire. Using the fuzzy hierarchy process (FAHP), the factors affecting indigenous knowledge and the sustainable management of water resources for optimal water use in the Sistan region were ranked. The final rankings of the factors influencing indigenous knowledge for optimal agricultural use of water resources indicate that the educational-extensional factor, with a final weight of 0.37, is the first priority, while social factors, government support, economics, farmers' knowledge, and information, with weights of 0.24, 0.21, 0.13, and 0.03, respectively, are the next priorities. It is recommended that the indigenous knowledge of local authorities be augmented, and that farmers be encouraged to use modern irrigation techniques to optimize the agricultural irrigation of water.

**Keywords:** indigenous knowledge; sustainable water resources management; optimal consumption; fuzzy hierarchy technique (FAHP)
