Reasons Behind Differences in the Use of the “Carbon Farming and Nutrient Management” Eco-Scheme Across the Polish Territory

Today, there is an ongoing discourse on the notion of carbon farming on an international scale. The underlying factors contributing to this phenomenon are numerous. Firstly, the degradation of intensively farmed soils is increasing, and secondly, there is a clear need to restore their biodiversity. A multitude of pollutants stemming from agricultural production have incited the implementation of targeted measures, notably by the European Commission. Consequently, the adoption of the European Green Deal in Poland has prompted the agricultural sector to implement a series of modifications to its practices, with the objective of enhancing soil cultivation and animal husbandry methods. In response to these changes, the introduction of carbon farming practices is being proposed. These practices, which are to be implemented in Polish agriculture with the support of EU subsidies, are intended to mitigate the effects of climate change. This prompts further inquiry into the potential evolution of carbon farming practices and the extent of farmer interest in them. According to the available data, in Poland, 56% of the total agricultural area was covered by payments under the carbon farming eco-scheme. However, support was accessed by barely 31% of farms with an area of more than 1 ha. In turn, from a regional perspective, data analysis reveals significant regional differences in the use of support. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the structural, environmental, and production reasons behind differences in the use of the “Carbon farming and nutrient management“ eco-scheme across the Polish territory. The headline result is that participation is strongly associated with farm structure, moderately with production performance, and only weakly with environmental status.