Systems and Tools for Supporting Farmers' Decisions Regarding the use of Agrochemicals in Poland

Abstract

Poland currently belongs to countries with a relatively high consumption of agrochemicals, in particular mineral fertilizers and chemical herbicides. From the perspective of environmental protection, as well as improving the efficiency of treatments using agrochemicals, it is essential for the farmer to have knowledge in order to make the right decisions. To meet these needs, Decision Support Systems, IT tools providing information and knowledge, supporting organizational and business decision-making activities are created. This paper presents the results of analyses of the use of these systems in Poland. The work also presents innovative decision support systems in the form of applications as well as statistical data on the current level of agrochemical consumption in Polish agriculture. According to the analyses, Polish farmers have access to many systems, including innovative ones. Statistical data shows that users of farms in Poland only to a small extent use the decision-making support of in the field of plant protection. in this respect, it is necessary to increase the activity of farmers in the search for knowledge from many different sources and to significantly increase its level and improve their skills.