IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i7p3793-d777363.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Organic Farming as an Alternative Maintenance Strategy in the Opinion of Farmers from Natura 2000 Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Adam Pawlewicz

    (Department of Agrotechnology and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Wojciech Gotkiewicz

    (Department of Agrotechnology and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Brodzińska

    (Department of Agrotechnology and Agribusiness, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, ul. Oczapowskiego 8, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Pawlewicz

    (Department of Socio-Economic Geography, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 15, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland)

  • Bartosz Mickiewicz

    (Department of Regional and European Studies, West Pomeranian University of Technology, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Paweł Kluczek

    (Interdisciplinary Humanistic Doctoral Studies, Faculty of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw, Szturmowa 4, 02-678 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

Agricultural land accounts for approximately 40% of the total Natura 2000 (N2K) network area. Therefore, many habitats and species protected under the Habitats and Birds Directives are dependent on or linked to agricultural practices. This implies that sustaining agriculture of a high natural value is a priority in achieving the aim of halting the loss of biodiversity in the European Union (EU). However, extensive agriculture is unprofitable in many regions of the EU, which results in it being either abandoned or intensified in the absence of financial support. Hence, organic farming (OF), which is most often supported with public funds, can be an alternative to conventional agriculture in N2K areas. This article is an empirical study of the differences in perceiving the possibilities of farm functioning in a protected area (PA) by organic and conventional farm owners. It was examined whether this could be the actual path to improving farmers’ living conditions in the context of legal protection of naturally valuable areas. The study material comprises the results of a survey conducted at the turn of 2016 and 2017, which addressed a total of 292 farmers, including 152 organic farm operators and 140 conventional farm operators, whose areas under cultivation were located within the N2K “Dolina Biebrzy” (“Biebrza Valley”) PLH200008 area in Poland. For the analysis of the data collected using structured questionnaires, a variety of statistical methods and techniques were applied. The study results indicated that in terms of satisfaction with the economic performance of their farms, there is no major difference between the opinions expressed by organic and conventional farm owners. However, organic farming could be an alternative livelihood strategy from the environmental policy perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Pawlewicz & Wojciech Gotkiewicz & Katarzyna Brodzińska & Katarzyna Pawlewicz & Bartosz Mickiewicz & Paweł Kluczek, 2022. "Organic Farming as an Alternative Maintenance Strategy in the Opinion of Farmers from Natura 2000 Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:3793-:d:777363
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/3793/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/7/3793/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adam Pawlewicz, 2020. "Change of Price Premiums Trend for Organic Food Products: The Example of the Polish Egg Market," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Koemle, Dieter & Lakner, Sebastian & Yu, Xiaohua, 2019. "The impact of Natura 2000 designation on agricultural land rents in Germany," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Lee Cronbach, 1951. "Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 16(3), pages 297-334, September.
    4. Ben Ma & Yuqian Zhang & Yilei Hou & Yali Wen, 2020. "Do Protected Areas Matter? A Systematic Review of the Social and Ecological Impacts of the Establishment of Protected Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Swinton, Scott M. & Lupi, Frank & Robertson, G. Philip & Hamilton, Stephen K., 2007. "Ecosystem services and agriculture: Cultivating agricultural ecosystems for diverse benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 245-252, December.
    6. Lee Cronbach, 1988. "Internal consistency of tests: Analyses old and new," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 53(1), pages 63-70, March.
    7. Heinrichs, J. & Kuhn, T. & Pahmeyer, C. & Britz, W., 2021. "Economic effects of plot sizes and farm-plot distances in organic and conventional farming systems: A farm-level analysis for Germany," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Guillem, E.E. & Murray-Rust, D. & Robinson, D.T. & Barnes, A. & Rounsevell, M.D.A., 2015. "Modelling farmer decision-making to anticipate tradeoffs between provisioning ecosystem services and biodiversity," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 12-23.
    9. James E. M. Watson & Nigel Dudley & Daniel B. Segan & Marc Hockings, 2014. "The performance and potential of protected areas," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7525), pages 67-73, November.
    10. Besser, T. & Mann, S., 2015. "Which farm characteristics influence work satisfaction? An analysis of two agricultural systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 107-112.
    11. Andrew J Tanentzap & Anthony Lamb & Susan Walker & Andrew Farmer, 2015. "Resolving Conflicts between Agriculture and the Natural Environment," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Klaas Sijtsma, 2009. "On the Use, the Misuse, and the Very Limited Usefulness of Cronbach’s Alpha," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 107-120, March.
    13. Qiao, Yuhui & Martin, Friederike & Cook, Seth & He, Xueqing & Halberg, Niels & Scott, Steffanie & Pan, Xihe, 2018. "Certified Organic Agriculture as an Alternative Livelihood Strategy for Small-scale Farmers in China: A Case Study in Wanzai County, Jiangxi Province," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 301-307.
    14. Piotr Bórawski & Marek Bartłomiej Bórawski & Andrzej Parzonko & Ludwik Wicki & Tomasz Rokicki & Aleksandra Perkowska & James William Dunn, 2021. "Development of Organic Milk Production in Poland on the Background of the EU," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-25, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tyler Hunt & Peter Bentler, 2015. "Quantile Lower Bounds to Reliability Based on Locally Optimal Splits," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 80(1), pages 182-195, March.
    2. Qiaoqiao Zhan & Katsunori Furuya & Xiaolan Tang & Zhehui Li, 2024. "Policy Development in China’s Protected Scenic and Historic Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, February.
    3. Salim Moussa, 2016. "A Comment on the Estimation of the Reliability of Multidimensional Marketing Constructs: A Store Personality Scale Application," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 17(5), pages 1125-1144, October.
    4. Jeanne A. Teresi & Katja Ocepek-Welikson & John A. Toner & Marjorie Kleinman & Mildred Ramirez & Joseph P. Eimicke & Barry J. Gurland & Albert Siu, 2017. "Methodological Issues in Measuring Subjective Well-Being and Quality-of-Life: Applications to Assessment of Affect in Older, Chronically and Cognitively Impaired, Ethnically Diverse Groups Using the F," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(2), pages 251-288, June.
    5. de Boer, Joop & Aiking, Harry, 2021. "Climate change and species decline: Distinct sources of European consumer concern supporting more sustainable diets," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    6. Lena Busch & Till Utesch & Bernd Strauss, 2019. "Validation of the vignette-based German Exercise Causality Orientation Scale (G-ECOS)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, October.
    7. Eunseong Cho, 2021. "Neither Cronbach’s Alpha nor McDonald’s Omega: A Commentary on Sijtsma and Pfadt," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 86(4), pages 877-886, December.
    8. Tarkkonen, L. & Vehkalahti, K., 2005. "Measurement errors in multivariate measurement scales," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 172-189, September.
    9. David J. Hessen, 2017. "Lower Bounds to the Reliabilities of Factor Score Estimators," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 82(3), pages 648-659, September.
    10. Érika Martins Silva Ramos & Cecilia Jakobsson Bergstad, 2021. "The Psychology of Sharing: Multigroup Analysis among Users and Non-Users of Carsharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, June.
    11. Jules L. Ellis, 2021. "A Test Can Have Multiple Reliabilities," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 86(4), pages 869-876, December.
    12. Essie Sutton & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl & Amery D. Wu & Molly Stewart Lawlor, 2018. "Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form Adapted for Children Ages 8–12," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1217-1236, August.
    13. Yajuan Chen & Qian Zhang & Wenping Liu & Zhenrong Yu, 2017. "Analyzing Farmers’ Perceptions of Ecosystem Services and PES Schemes within Agricultural Landscapes in Mengyin County, China: Transforming Trade-Offs into Synergies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, August.
    14. Patwa, Nitin & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Seetharaman, Arumugam & Sarkar, Sabyasachi & Maiti, Kausik & Hingorani, Kunal, 2021. "Towards a circular economy: An emerging economies context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 725-735.
    15. Wang, Selena & De Boeck, Paul, 2020. "When high reliability does not signal reliable detection of experimental effects," OSF Preprints gz8pw, Center for Open Science.
    16. Jos Berge & Willem Hofstee, 1999. "Coefficients alpha and reliabilities of unrotated and rotated components," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 64(1), pages 83-90, March.
    17. Fernanda Maria Rovai Bado & Flávio Rebustini & Lisa Jamieson & Karine Laura Cortellazzi & Fábio Luiz Mialhe, 2018. "Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Oral Health Literacy Assessment in Spanish and development of a shortened form of the instrument," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-12, November.
    18. Rosinger, Asher Y., 2018. "Household water insecurity after a historic flood: Diarrhea and dehydration in the Bolivian Amazon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 192-202.
    19. Erik Meijer & Edward Oczkowski & Tom Wansbeek, 2021. "How measurement error affects inference in linear regression," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 131-155, January.
    20. Maciej Koniewski & Ilona Barańska & Violetta Kijowska & Jenny T. Steen & Anne B. Wichmann & Sheila Payne & Giovanni Gambassi & Nele Den Noortgate & Harriet Finne-Soveri & Tinne Smets & Lieve den Block, 2022. "Measuring relatives’ perceptions of end-of-life communication with physicians in five countries: a psychometric analysis," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1561-1570, December.

    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:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:7:p:3793-:d:777363. 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.