Financial support, training and willingness to pay for integrated crop management in Greece
2009
Theocharopoulos, A., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Agricultural Economics | Aggelopoulos, S., Technological Educational Inst. of Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Farm Management | Papanagiotou, E., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Agricultural Economics
In recent years, consumer concern regarding food safety and environmental pollution has enhanced the value of “sustainable agriculture” that can evolve indefinitely, thus achieving greater human utility and a more efficient use of resources, while maintaining a balance with the environment which is favourable to most other species. Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is considered to be a sustainable way of farming that is friendly towards the environment, has a realistic economic potential, and uses up-to-date technology in order to produce high quality goods in the most efficient manner. The objective of this paper is to explore the willingness of producers to pay for the implementation of Integrated Crop Management, to examine the role of training for farmers using this sustainable farming system and, finally, to inquire into whether specific financial support measures are required for ICM implementation. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to collect primary data from a representative sample of certified farms, which were then analysed by means of the chi-square non-parametric statistic. According to the results, the financial support for the system's implementation ranges between 70 and 140 EUR/ha on average. The willingness to pay is at the level of 100 EUR /ha for the majority of farmers, mainly due to the reduction in expenditure for agrochemicals. The willingness to pay is not related to farm income but is significantly linked to the training farmers have received on this sustainable way of farming. The results of the present research can assist policy makers in introducing the required agricultural policy measures for implementing an effective financial support scheme and, by extension, for an effective endorsement of this sustainable farming system.
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