Farmers’ educational background, and the implementation of agricultural innovations illustrated with an example of land consolidations
2017
Dudzinska, M., University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland) | Prus, B., University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland) | Bacior, S., University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland) | Kowalczyk, C., University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland)
In Poland land consolidation is carried out mainly in the southern part of the country. In three voivodships, namely Lubelskie Voivodship, Podkarpackie Voivodship and Małopolskie Voivodship, in the years 2003-2014 there were numerous land consolidations, over 20,000 ha in each voivodship. In another three voivodships (Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Zachodniopomorskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie) there are no land consolidations, even though according to scientists from the Polish, every voivodship requires land consolidations processes. What is the reason for that situation? Both domestic and foreign research confirms that farmers with a higher level of education have been managing their farms more effectively. On the other hand, the development of the society’s knowledge, education and qualifications is an important factor in the creation of innovations in production. Therefore, are the farmers’ level of qualifications and education among the factors which affect the location of agricultural land consolidations? The analysis was carried out for the territory of Poland divided into voivodships (NUTS 2), and for Lubelskie Voivodship divided into municipalities (NUTS 5). The study was divided into the following stages: At the 1st stage of the study, the scope of implementation of agricultural land consolidation in Poland in the years 2004–2013 was determined. At the 2nd stage of the study, results of an analysis of the educational levels of agricultural farm managers in 2010 in selected research units were presented. At the 3rd stage, an analysis of the relationships between the educational level of agricultural farm managers and the implementation of agricultural land consolidations was carried out. In Poland, the level and the area of implemented consolidations is determined by level of agricultural education of agricultural farm managers. Research at the level of both the country and the municipalities of Lubelskie Voivodship confirm the fact that consolidations are more frequently implemented in the areas where agricultural farm managers have a lower educational level.
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