Perception of climate change: A survey among agricultural advisors

Abstract

This paper is based on the results of an empirical study conducted on a sample of 103 employees of the Croatian Agricultural and Forestry Advisory Service in mid2018. The main goal of the study was to determine the opinions and attitudes of agricultural advisors on climate change. Attitudes were measured using 16 statements which summarize three composite indicators (awareness of anthropogenic causes and consequences, mitigation responsibility, and indifference and defeatism towards climate change). Results of the research show that the respondents are relatively aware of the anthropogenic impact on climate change, as well as wider consequences of climate change on society and the environment (MKIs = 3.83). On average, respondents expressed strongest agreement with statements about political and civic responsibility in climate change mitigation (MKIo = 4.06). Most agricultural advisors perceive climate change as dangerous for the stability of domestic farming, and as many as 92.4% of respondents believe that farmers do not have the necessary knowledge to successfully deal with the risks of climate change in their own production.