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Assessment of natural conditions for development of organic farming
Tomasz Stuczyński1, Bernadetta Zawadzka1, Seweryn Kukuła1, Henryk Terelak1, Jan Kuś2
1 Zakład Gleboznawstwa Erozji i Ochrony Gruntów Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa w Puławach ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy
2 Zakład Systemów i Ekonomiki Produkcji Roślinnej Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa w Puławach ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy

Acta Agrophysica 108 (2004)

abstract:        Assessment of agricultural land suitability for organic farming, as characterized by natural conditions, is proposed in this paper. Multi-criteria analysis was used for this assessment by assigning proper weights to factors indicating the attractiveness of a given area for organic production. Values of weights vary depending on the indicator and reflect its expected impact on the general conditions promoting development of organic farming. Indicators generated are aggregated to a gmina level and include: land quality assessment, landscape diversity as characterized by abundance of nature protected areas and grasslands, organic matter status of soils, marginal land, soil acidity and soil contamination. Assigning weights to partial indicators is subjective, to a certain extent, and driven by expert knowledge. The above indicators were summarized to generate a generic indicator of land suitability for organic farming. Results presented in this paper indicate significant regional differences in land suitability for organic farming in Poland. It seems that there is a need to develop a future policy and support programs to promote organic farming by allocating proper resources mainly to most suitable regions to built their competitive potential on European market of organic products.
keywords: assessment, organic farming, soil quality
original in: Polish