IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i19p8022-d421037.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Farmer Awareness and Implementation of Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Different Types of Farms in Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Monika Gebska

    (Institute of Management, Warsaw, University of Life Sciences—WULS, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Anna Grontkowska

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics and Organisation of Enterprises, University of Life Sciences—WULS, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Wiesław Swiderek

    (Institute of Animal Sciences, Department of Animal Genetics and Conservation, University of Life Sciences—WULS, Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Barbara Golebiewska

    (Institute of Economics and Finance, Department of Economics and Organisation of Enterprises, University of Life Sciences—WULS, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

Sustainability has been an emerging issue for years in the economy and agriculture. Making agriculture sustainable has become so essential that it has become part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). However, producers ultimately decide individually the practices they implement. This is why farmers play a central role in ensuring a sustainable agricultural system, which results from farmers’ knowledge and expectations. Although numerous studies address sustainability issues, little is known about farmers’ knowledge and implementation of sustainable practices at different types of farms, especially in central and eastern Europe. This study aimed to determine Polish farmers’ awareness of sustainability with regards to animal and crop production. This paper also shows how farmers value the advantages arising from sustainable production. The study was carried out among 300 farms classified by type (dairy, beef cattle, pork, and crop production). The research instrument used was a questionnaire, with the Likert scale. The results show that dairy farmers and pork farmers declared higher knowledge and better implement sustainable practices than other farmers. The producers’ views on the benefits coming from sustainable agriculture varied. However, the two most significant advantages were recognized—the protection of water against pollution and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika Gebska & Anna Grontkowska & Wiesław Swiderek & Barbara Golebiewska, 2020. "Farmer Awareness and Implementation of Sustainable Agriculture Practices in Different Types of Farms in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:19:p:8022-:d:421037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8022/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/8022/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Amani Omer & Unai Pascual & Noel P. Russell, 2007. "Biodiversity Conservation and Productivity in Intensive Agricultural Systems," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 308-329, June.
    2. Walder, Peter & Kantelhardt, Jochen, 2018. "The Environmental Behaviour of Farmers – Capturing the Diversity of Perspectives with a Q Methodological Approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 55-63.
    3. Kilian, Bernard & Jones, Connie & Pratt, Lawrence & Villalobos, Andres, 2006. "Is sustainable agriculture a viable strategy to improve farm income in Central America? A case study on coffee," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 322-330, March.
    4. Ross Williams, 2013. "Introduction," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 46(4), pages 460-461, December.
    5. Robert E. O'Connor & Richard J. Bard & Ann Fisher, 1999. "Risk Perceptions, General Environmental Beliefs, and Willingness to Address Climate Change," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), pages 461-471, June.
    6. Joy Ogaji, 2005. "Sustainable Agriculture in the UK," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 253-270, June.
    7. Le Gal, P.-Y. & Dugué, P. & Faure, G. & Novak, S., 2011. "How does research address the design of innovative agricultural production systems at the farm level? A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(9), pages 714-728.
    8. David Tilman & Kenneth G. Cassman & Pamela A. Matson & Rosamond Naylor & Stephen Polasky, 2002. "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 671-677, August.
    9. Namatié Traoré & Réjean Landry & Nabil Amara, 1998. "On-Farm Adoption of Conservation Practices: The Role of Farm and Farmer Characteristics, Perceptions, and Health Hazards," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 74(1), pages 114-127.
    10. Valkila, Joni, 2009. "Fair Trade organic coffee production in Nicaragua -- Sustainable development or a poverty trap?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 3018-3025, October.
    11. Mansoor Maitah & Khaled Zidan & Rami Hodrob & Karel Malec, 2015. "Farmers Awareness Concerning Negative Effects of Pesticides on Environment in Jordan," Modern Applied Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(2), pages 1-12, February.
    12. Beuchelt, Tina D. & Zeller, Manfred, 2011. "Profits and poverty: Certification's troubled link for Nicaragua's organic and fairtrade coffee producers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1316-1324, May.
    13. Miguel A. Altieri & Clara I. Nicholls & Rene Montalba, 2017. "Technological Approaches to Sustainable Agriculture at a Crossroads: An Agroecological Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-13, February.
    14. Jonathan A. Foley & Navin Ramankutty & Kate A. Brauman & Emily S. Cassidy & James S. Gerber & Matt Johnston & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Christine O’Connell & Deepak K. Ray & Paul C. West & Christian Balz, 2011. "Solutions for a cultivated planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7369), pages 337-342, October.
    15. Sam Jones & Peter Gibbon, 2011. "Developing Agricultural Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: Organic Cocoa in Rural Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(10), pages 1595-1618.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Charmaine Samala Guno & Casper Boongaling Agaton, 2022. "Socio-Economic and Environmental Analyses of Solar Irrigation Systems for Sustainable Agricultural Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, June.
    2. Adam Wąs & Vitaliy Krupin & Paweł Kobus & Jan Witajewski-Baltvilks & Robert Jeszke & Krystian Szczepański, 2021. "Towards Climate Neutrality in Poland by 2050: Assessment of Policy Implications in the Farm Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.
    3. Barbara Breza-Boruta & Justyna Bauza-Kaszewska, 2023. "Effect of Microbial Preparation and Biomass Incorporation on Soil Biological and Chemical Properties," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Lech Gałęzewski & Iwona Jaskulska & Dariusz Jaskulski & Edward Wilczewski & Marek Kościński, 2022. "Strip Intercrop of Barley, Wheat, Triticale, Oat, Pea and Yellow Lupine—A Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Yi Cheng, 2023. "Analysis of Development Strategy for Ecological Agriculture Based on a Neural Network in the Environmental Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Meemken, Eva-Marie, 2021. "Large farms, large benefits? Sustainability certification among family farms and agro-industrial producers in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    2. Ibanez, Marcela & Blackman, Allen, 2016. "Is Eco-Certification a Win–Win for Developing Country Agriculture? Organic Coffee Certification in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 14-27.
    3. Thi Minh Chi Nguyen & Li-Hsien Chien & Shwu-En Chen, 2015. "Impact of certification system on smallhold coffee farms` income distribution in Vietnam," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(6), pages 137-149, June.
    4. Hannes Koppel & Günther Schulze, 2013. "The Importance of the Indirect Transfer Mechanism for Consumer Willingness to Pay for Fair Trade Products—Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 369-387, December.
    5. Ethan Gordon & Federico Davila & Chris Riedy, 2022. "Transforming landscapes and mindscapes through regenerative agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(2), pages 809-826, June.
    6. Jorge Sellare & Eva‐Marie Meemken & Christophe Kouamé & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Do Sustainability Standards Benefit Smallholder Farmers Also When Accounting For Cooperative Effects? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 681-695, March.
    7. Vellema, W. & Buritica Casanova, A. & Gonzalez, C. & D’Haese, M., 2015. "The effect of specialty coffee certification on household livelihood strategies and specialisation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 13-25.
    8. Mitiku, Fikadu & de Mey, Yann & Nyssen, Jan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Working Papers 253589, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    9. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Toward Improving the Design of Sustainability Standards—A Gendered Analysis of Farmers’ Preferences," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 285-298.
    10. Mirhaj, M. & Razzak, M.A. & Wahab, M.A., 2014. "Comparison of nitrogen balances and efficiencies in rice cum prawn vs. rice cum fish cultures in Mymensingh, North-Eastern Bangladesh," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 54-62.
    11. Qi-Qi CHEN & Jun-Biao ZHANG & Yu HUO, 2016. "A study on research hot-spots and frontiers of agricultural science and technology innovation - visualization analysis based on the Citespace III," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 62(9), pages 429-445.
    12. Haozhe Zhang & Jinyi Li, 2024. "Mapping the urban and rural planning response paths to pandemics of infectious diseases," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    13. Donovan, Jason & Poole, Nigel, 2014. "Changing asset endowments and smallholder participation in higher value markets: Evidence from certified coffee producers in Nicaragua," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-13.
    14. Norman Siebrecht, 2020. "Sustainable Agriculture and Its Implementation Gap—Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-27, May.
    15. Chiputwa, Brian & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 400-412.
    16. Hidayat, Kurniawati Nia & Glasbergen, Pieter & Offermans, Astrid, 2015. "Sustainability Certification and Palm Oil Smallholders’ Livelihood: A Comparison between Scheme Smallholders and Independent Smallholders in Indonesia," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-24, September.
    17. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2014. "Certification and Access to Export Markets: Adoption and Return on Investment of Organic-Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 79-92.
    18. Matteo Coronese & Martina Occelli & Francesco Lamperti & Andrea Roventini, 2024. "Towards sustainable agriculture: behaviors, spatial dynamics and policy in an evolutionary agent-based model," LEM Papers Series 2024/05, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    19. Sauer, Johannes & Wossink, Ada, 2010. "The Marginal Cost Of Agri-Environmental Services," 50th Annual Conference, Braunschweig, Germany, September 29-October 1, 2010 93939, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    20. Rótolo, G.C. & Montico, S. & Francis, C.A. & Ulgiati, S., 2015. "How land allocation and technology innovation affect the sustainability of agriculture in Argentina Pampas: An expanded life cycle analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 79-93.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:19:p:8022-:d:421037. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.