engleski

Awareness of the Invasive alien species problem among farmers: Current state and future prospects

Good agricultural practice recognises invasive alien species (IAS) as a threat to agriculture in Croatia and tackles the issue to a certain extent through the provisions of the Rural Development Programme. To achieve the direct financial support in agriculture, farmers are obliged to remove some IAS from their land, playing a significant role in IAS control. Frequent farmers' inquiries to Croatian Agricultural and Forestry Advisory Service about IAS confirm the inadequate knowledge of farmers, while the information provided by the advisors often influences the attitudes of farmers on IAS. The aim of this research was to assess the attitudes and perceptions of farmers and agriculture advisers on IAS and define preferred methods and topics for further education of both groups. For that purpose, two questionnaires were designed, one for farmers and other for agriculture advisers. The results indicate that agriculture advisers and farmers are familiar with IAS issue, but the majority of both groups feel that they need additional education and capacity building. The respondents identified major gaps and issues of concern as well as preferred methods for addressing the IAS issue. The results highlight the relevance of the topic for the farmers and indicate the need to further address it by the competent institutions. Based on the findings, appropriate methods for communicating the topic to the advisors and farmers are proposed.

Advisory service, agriculture, IAS control, education

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