j.krolczyk@po.opole.pl 
Call us: +48 77 449 8360 Project title
Implementation of biochar for sustainable agriculture in Poland:
socio-environmental outcomes and economic viability
Part 2. Survey: socio-economic implications of biochar use
Project coordination
- Opole University of Technology
Partners
- Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Agriculture in Krakow
- Cracow University of Technology
Team
- Agnieszka Latawiec (Opole University of Technology, International Institute for Sustainability, University of East Anglia) – project coordinator
- Jolanta Krolczyk (Opole University of Technology)
- Grzegorz Krolczyk (Opole University of Technology)
- Agnieszka Medynska-Juraszek (Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences)
- Maciej Kubon (University of Agriculture in Krakow)
- Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec (Cracow University of Technology)
- Ewa Polańczyk (Opole University of Technology)
Patronage
- Department of Biosystems Engineering, Opole Univeristy of Technology
- Prof Katarzyna Szwedziak (Opole University of Technology)
- Prof Marek Tukiendorf (Opole University of Technology)
Description
To investigate socio-economic opportunities for and constraints to the adoption of biochar in Poland we designed a survey (applicable both as an anonymous questionnaire and for semi-structured interviews). Indeed, social aspects are often omitted in emerging technologies but are paramount for long-term utility and effectiveness of the approach. In order for regional scale advantages of biochar to be achieved, diverse stakeholders, farmers and decision makers, along with scientists, have to be actively interested in optimizing biochar technology towards their local environment. In this study we therefore assess the factors underlying the propensity of a range of stakeholders to adopt biochar. The survey consists of 20 questions broadly divided into five sections: background information about the farm, perceptions of sustainable agriculture, waste management, familiarity with biochar and personal data. Mix of small, medium and large-scale farmers is used in the interviews from various regions of Poland (regions of Opole, Krakow, Wroclaw).
A mixed-method approach is used on collected data from surveys and semi-structured interviews while the data from the survey will is analysed with statistical package exploring sinmple cross tabs, and logistic and multiple regressions. The results will also spatially be overlapped with selected census data. In this study we also preliminary investigate socio-economic impacts, both local and possible transboundary effects of biomass demand.
Agriculture is an important sector of polish economy, yet still many crops are below their potential productivity. Biochar can potentially increase agricultural productivity, but social acceptance is paramount for the ultimate success of this technique.
