2020
1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture:
TOWARDS SOIL SUSTAINABILITY
11–13 June 2024 • Lublin–Nałęczów, Poland
https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.3.01
Published online: 4 October 2024
Implementation of soil friendly practices: analysis of willingness to accept compensation in six European countries
Olha Aleksandrova1*, Eija Pouta2, Annika Tienhaara2, Anne Põder1
1 Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, Tartu 51006, Estonia
2 Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland
* Corresponding author:
Abstract
Farmers perceptions of soil quality are of very significant in the development of more sustainable farming practices. The paper examines the data collected with a questionnaire survey from farmers in six different European countries: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Belgium, Atlantic Spain and Mediterranean Spain in the EU Horizon2020 funded project SoildiverAgro. The overall aim of the survey was to collect information on farmers’ opinions on their soil management practices and how socioeconomic factors impact their choices.
This study aims to determine the manner in which various factors influence WTA (willingness to accept) compensation for implementing of soil friendly practices in six EU countries.
The two dependent variables of this study are the willingness to implement the corresponding farming practice in the next season and the value of expected compensation for the intended farming practice if farming practice is intended. To quantify the intention of farming practice we gave ordered numbers 1–2 as options in the Probit model. The expected compensation was estimated in the Tobit regression. To estimate the expected value for WTA, the dependent variable involved typical censored data with right-side thresholds. The survey revealed the minimum expectation for compensation was 40 €/ha per year, whereas maximum was 800 €/ha per year. The factors influencing the willingness to accept the compensation were examined using Probit model. Among the selected explanatory variables, gender and age were found to be statistically significant factors positively associated with farmer’s willingness to accept the compensation in Mediterranean Spain whereas age was found to be statistically significant factor negatively associated with farmer’s WTA in Estonia. Type of farming (1 = organic, 0 = conventional) and own land (ha) were found to be statistically significant factors positively associated with WTA in Germany and Belgium; and Finland and Belgium respectively. Farmer status (1 = owner, 0 = other) was found to be statistically significant factor negatively associated with WTA in Germany and Mediterranean Spain. These findings highlight the importance of considering socioeconomic factors when implementing subsidy programs, as they significantly influence the willingness of farmers to participate and make changes to soil practices.
Keywords: soil, sustainable farming practices, SoildiverAgro
How to cite
Aleksandrova O., Pouta E., Tienhaara A., Põder A., 2024. Implementation of soil friendly practices: analysis of willingness to accept compensation in six European countries. 1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture: Towards Soil Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.3.01
