Region

Siedleckie is an important agricultural region in Poland with large areas of productive farmland due to the favourable soil and climate conditions. The region is a major producer of field crops (cereals, potatoes, peas and beans) and fruits (raspberries, currants, strawberries and apples). It also has a high concentration of Natura 2000 sites that are important for the protection of valuable natural habitats and species.

Study focus

Biodiversity is fundamental to the functionality, stability and productivity of all ecosystems. Biodiversity is essential to maintaining human well-being and future economic and social development. Agriculture production needs to be in complete harmony with nature.

Protecting ecosystems is an important and challenging task for farmers. Reducing threats to biodiversity from agriculture is one of the biggest challenges for policy-makers in Poland and at European and global level.

Preventing degradation of the rural landscape and maintaining its ecological functions while optimising productivity for food production requires many policy measures. These include shaping the spatial structure of the landscape and promoting the use of appropriate agricultural practices.

A properly structured rural landscape should integrate agricultural land with elements of ecological infrastructure such as forest patches, mid-field strips, small and medium-sized natural and semi-natural habitats, ecological corridors, buffer zones, ditches, ponds, etc. The number and distribution of these landscape elements should ensure the ecological diversity within the landscape structure. With a properly shaped network of semi-natural ecosystems, such a landscape is the basis for optimising the agricultural economy. However, this approach is knowledge-intensive and farmers need support with many forms of new information and skills.

The full report (in English) is here

Partner and responsible person contact

Agricultural Advisory Center (AAC)

Mateusz Sekowski, m.sekowski@cdr.gov.pl

Lessons learned

1. The role of agricultural advisors in the Siedleckie region is significant. Advisors from the public sector cooperating with farmers at the regional level play an important role in advising on all forms of innovation. Regular (one to one or collective) meetings with advisors help to streamline farmers’ decision-making regarding the assessment of innovations for introduction on their farms. The vast majority of the farmer-advisor interaction occurs in ‘one to one’ training sessions, workshops, and seminars.
2. Public advisors are the main advice providers for most farmers in the region. This is due to the region’s long history of public consultancy, trust in farmer-advisor relations, and the high competencies demonstrated by advisors in the subject of innovation.
3. Another important source of advice is neighbouring farmers (peer-to-peer knowledge exchange), especially those who interact and frequently share information and ideas.