Baltic farmers admit water pollution by agriculture but expect improved evidence

The document reports on a survey of farmers in the Baltic Sea region, finding that while most are aware of water quality issues and accept responsibility for pollution, their priorities differ by country. Farmers in Estonia and Poland identify manure storage as a primary pollution source and request more support for modernization, whereas Swedish farmers do not view it as a priority. The brief highlights a divide between farmers who see themselves as 'land managers' providing public goods and those focused primarily on production. It recommends shifting toward outcome-based approaches, positive communication, and adaptive bureaucracy to improve the effectiveness of water protection management.

• Farmers in the surveyed pilot areas generally acknowledge water quality problems in surface waters and accept that pollution may result from their own actions rather than external factors.
• There is a regional divergence regarding the primary sources of pollution: farmers in Estonia and Poland identify manure and silage storage leakage as major contaminants and call for financial support to modernize these systems, while farmers in Sweden's Svärtaå basin do not consider manure storage a priority problem.
• While farmers view the improper timing and application of fertilizers as a serious cause of diffuse pollution, they generally do not consider the overall nutrient load from fields to be a significant factor.
• The survey identifies two distinct farmer identities: 'land managers' (more common in Estonia and Sweden) who view environmental protection as a public good, and 'producers' (more common in Poland and Lithuania) who prioritize competitiveness and food production.
• Most farmers rely on general rather than specific knowledge of environmental requirements, obtaining information primarily through the internet, trainings, and social networks.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). Baltic farmers admit water pollution by agriculture but expect improved evidence. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/policy_brief_baltic_farmers_admit_water_pollution_by_agriculture_but_expect_improved_evidence.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Baltic farmers admit water pollution by agriculture but expect improved evidence. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/policy_brief_baltic_farmers_admit_water_pollution_by_agriculture_but_expect_improved_evidence.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Baltic farmers admit water pollution by agriculture but expect improved evidence |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/policy_brief_baltic_farmers_admit_water_pollution_by_agriculture_but_expect_improved_evidence.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendbaltic, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Baltic farmers admit water pollution by agriculture but expect improved evidence}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/policy_brief_baltic_farmers_admit_water_pollution_by_agriculture_but_expect_improved_evidence.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }