Dairy farmers’ views on environment, results of questionnaire survey from regions of Mazowsze and Podlasie in Poland
2019
Syp, A., Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute, Pulawy (Poland) | Osuch, D., Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics – National Research Inst., Warsaw (Poland)
Intensive agricultural production has a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, almost thirty years ago, as a part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Agri-environmental schemes (AES) were implemented. Since the first introduction, AES have been reconstructed and their budget increased. Despite these changes, many studies still show the negative impact of agricultural practices on the environment as an unresolved problem. The main reason for this is the inefficient implementation of AES by farmers. The greater knowledge and ecological awareness among farmers may facilitate the policy development. This paper presents a view of dairy farmers towards environmental threats in Poland, in the region of Mazowsze and Podlasie. The survey was conducted in 2017, in 20 dairy farms participating in AES and in 22 farms non-participating in AES. The results present that 91 and 75 % non-AES and AES dairy farmers, respectively, declared the impact of own farm activity on the environment. However, a higher % of AES respondents stated that intensive agriculture has a negative impact on the environment. All risks to the environment were assessed as higher by AES farmers when compared to non-AES. For both groups of farmers the usage of high pesticide and fertilization doses has the most harmful effects on the environment. As much as 95 % of the respondents from AES and non-AES farms stated that application of financial incentives may encourage farmers to implement solutions improving the state of the environment. The need to raise ecological awareness was the second factor reported by them. The attitude of non-AES farmers towards environmental regulations has been less positive than of AES farmers. The similar % of respondents from both groups declared that it is important for them to manage farms without damaging the environment and to make a profit. The principal finding of our research shows that all the surveyed farmers were characterized by high environmental awareness.
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