Farmers are willing to protect water quality but do not believe agriculture is a leading source of pollution
Local Found A "concern" Source By As A A "relatively Nutrient Loads Acknowledgement Catchments" Of Level In Described This And Water Leading Agriculture Is Researchers Of Low That Farmers,
Just half of all farmers believe water pollution is a relevant issue in their local area, while almost two in three farmers believe that they are already doing enough to protect water quality, new research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.
The research titled 'Farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and intentions towards water quality and pollution risk mitigation actions' has assessed farmers' willingness to mitigate the risks of water pollution in line with the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) advice.
The research found there was an almost universal willingness amongst farmers to address water quality issues on their farms such as a leaking silage pit. However, farmers reported a "relatively low level of acknowledgement that agriculture is a leading source of nutrient loads in local water catchments".
A total of 162 farmers completed a survey as part of this ESRI research project. Farmers were asked about a set of standardised scenarios that could potentially arise on their farms. For example, one scenario described silage effluent leaking from a pit, ultimately draining into a stream.
"The ASSAP advice in this instance is to fix the leak and divert effluent into a collection tank. The survey asked farmers whether they would comply with the advice and in what timeframe.
"All farmers indicated a willingness to fix the problem, but one-quarter of respondents indicated it would take them a month or longer before addressing the issue".
"Across all 484 instances of the scenario questions posed, farmers indicated they would implement the ASSAP guidance as a matter of priority 75% of [the] time.
"In scenarios comprising a risk of diffuse pollution (where mitigation actions are more difficult to verify), the average stated compliance rate of ASSAP advice is almost 100%.
"For the farmyard-based scenarios comprising a risk of point source pollution (where mitigation actions are easier to verify), the average stated compliance rate is 54%."
The most common reason farmers gave across scenarios for being willing to implement ASSAP advice is that something is a "high environmental risk and needs attention".
The "risk of financial penalty" is also a big motivation for farmers, with concern around cross-compliance.
"Insufficient time or resources" was cited as a key reason for not implementing ASSAP advice in a timely manner.
Researchers found a "relatively low level of acknowledgement that agriculture is a leading source of nutrient loads in local water catchments" by farmers, and described this as a "concern".
"Only one in two farmers believe that water pollution is a relevant issue in their local area. Almost two in three farmers believe that they are already doing enough to protect water quality.
"Considering that the ASSAP programme specifically operates in water catchments where agricultural pressure on water quality has been identified, such a relatively low level of acknowledgement is a concern."
Farmers expressed strongly in the survey that they should receive payment for measures that lead to water quality improvement.
"This contrasts with the philosophy of the ASSAP programme, which is a voluntary advice scheme without any associated financial payments," the research bulletin stated.
"If beliefs on financial payments are strongly held that some type of payment is necessary, it raises a concern about the extent to which farmers will fully engage with the ASSAP programme and thereby adjust practices to deliver improvements in water quality."
The survey results come as the Environmental Protection Agency's latest water quality report found that there are no signs yet of improvement and more action is needed.
The EPA said that the biggest issue impacting water quality is nutrient pollution from agriculture and wastewater.
Nitrogen pollution remains a significant issue in the east, southeast and south of the country, with 42% of river sites, 17% of estuarine and coastal waters, and 20% of groundwater sites all having nitrogen levels that are unsatisfactory. The EPA said this is primarily attributable to intensive agricultural activities on freely draining soils in these areas.
Researchers said that in the survey, farmers were "not always consistent in their responses to questions, in some instances responding in a strategic manner".
"If this is indicative of a wider trend, it suggests the need to verify the implementation of ASSAP advice to ensure that the programme will deliver on its water quality ambitions.
"However, developing a system to verify the implementation of all mitigation actions across all farms would be challenging.
"An alternative solution, reflecting experience in The Netherlands, could be to change from a confidential advisory scheme to one with greater transparency and public commitments among farmers."
