Resilience of Individual Farms to “The European Green Deal” in the Light of Farmers’ Opinions: The Case of the Opole Voivodeship

Abstract

Aim: The main goal is to identify the key factors influencing farmers’ (owners/managers) perceptions of how their farms respond to the institutional stressor defined as STRESSOR (“European Green Deal”).

Methodology: To achieve this goal, a questionnaire survey was used. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was used. The empirical study was conducted from February to May 2024. The population consisted of owners or principal managers of individual agricultural holdings in the Opole Voivodeship who cooperated with an institution supporting the development of agriculture and rural areas. The sampling frame comprised 2,000 units, from which the study units were randomly selected, and the inclusion criteria were: farm location (Opole Voivodeship) and the sale of agricultural raw materials produced on the farm. The final sample size was 72 respondents. The analysis of the collected data was based primarily on descriptive statistics and statistical inference methods, particularly the chi-square test of independence with Yates' correction.

Results: An empirical study conducted on a sample of 72 respondents showed that the vast majority of farmers (84%) expressed concerns about the potential impact of the European Green Deal (EGD) on their agricultural operations. As many as 90% of respondents indicated a potential reduction in agricultural production profitability as a result of implementing the EGD. This high level of threat perception may indicate a strong institutional stressor, which translates into a noticeable increase in uncertainty among agricultural producers. Statistical analysis revealed significant relationships between selected socio-demographic variables and the perceived impact of the EGD policy, suggesting that individual farm characteristics and their socio-economic environment may differentiate responses to regulatory pressure. Further research also identified the most important development barriers to agricultural operations. According to respondents, the most significant factors include: excessively low selling prices of agricultural products (average rating: 4.67), high input costs (4.65), and competition from cheaper imported products (4.53). In turn, factors such as difficulties in accessing external financing and growing farm debt were rated relatively lower, which may reflect the stable financial situation of the surveyed entities.

Implications and recommendations: Continued research is recommended to develop methods for operationalizing farm resilience, taking into account the diversity of farm structures, objectives, and local conditions. Due to the pilot nature of this study, it is necessary to conduct research on a larger, randomly selected sample to generalize the results. Economic narratives and individual perceptions of stressors should be considered an important component of resilience analysis, especially in the context of transformational policies such as the EGD The effectiveness of the EGD in the agricultural sector will depend not only on its formal assumptions but, above all, on adequate advisory, financial, and informational support for farms.

Originality/value: The paper contributes to the advancement of research on farm resilience by focusing on an institutional stressor.