An Attempt to Apply Canonical Analysis to Investigate the Dependencies between the Level of Organic Farming Development in Poland and the Chosen Environmental Determinants

Joanna Smoluk-Sikorska,Mariusz Malinowski

doi:10.3390/en14248390

Abstract

Polish organic agriculture has faced rapid growth in the recent two decades. Nevertheless, one may observe considerable discrepancies in organic agriculture development in specific regions of Poland. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the key conditions for this development and its spatial differentiation. Since the relationship between organic farming and the natural environment has a fundamental meaning in this production system, it is crucial to study the development determinants of environmental characters. Thus the paper aims to identify the level of organic farming development in Polish districts and to investigate multidimensional relations between this level and selected environmental conditions. In order to identify the range and direction of those multidimensional relations between the discussed phenomena, canonical analysis was applied. Within the conducted study, proprietary synthetic measures were constructed (using the TOPSIS—Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution), and linear ordering of the objects described by a large number of variables was employed. To define the strength and direction of the dependencies among constructed synthetic indices of the level of organic farming development and environmental conditions, a correlation analysis was performed. All 380 districts in Poland were considered as the investigated objects. Based on the variables describing selected environmental conditions, one may explain nearly 26.7% of the variance of variables related to organic agriculture development.

Highlights

Current societies face the challenge of environmental protection
The EU definition states that “Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental practices, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources, the application of high animal welfare standards, and a production method in line with the preference of certain consumers for products produced using natural substances and processes
The organic production method plays a dual societal role, where it, on the one hand, provides for a specific market responding to consumer demand for organic products, and on the other hand delivers public goods contributing to the protection of the environment and animal welfare, as well as to rural development.” [11]

Summary

Introduction

Current societies face the challenge of environmental protection Issues such as extensive consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources, increased fossil energy use, contamination, biodiversity depletion, soil degradation, deforestation, natural landscape deterioration, water shortages, as well as global warming, result in non-reversible changes in the environment [1,2,3,4,5,6]. According to IFOAM—a federation of organic agriculture associations, “organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. The organic production method plays a dual societal role, where it, on the one hand, provides for a specific market responding to consumer demand for organic products, and on the other hand delivers public goods contributing to the protection of the environment and animal welfare, as well as to rural development.” [11]

Objectives

Methods

Results