SSI

Farm’s rapid identification system for assessment of water quality in nitrate vulnerable zones and regions of intensive agricultural production

The product corresponds directly to:

• The need to implement the EU Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC)

• The concept of sustainable development - control of the nutrients circulation,

• The Soil Framework Directive - balance research for determining of sources and circulation of organic matter in soil. (the directive is preparing currently for the European Parliament)

National monitoring showed that in the rural areas the activities for the protection of waters against pollution from agricultural sources are still insufficient and so far there is no expected results.

Currently the only way to control the circulation of nutrients in agricultural production is the balance of ingredients. In this method, the basic problem is the large amount of computational methods, which means that the results are not comparable, both nationally and internationally.

It does not allow it to develop a rational components and measures to reduce pollutants.

Farm’s rapid identification system for assessment of water quality in nitrate vulnerable zones and regions of intensive agricultural production:

• based on two modules: production and environment

• enable the elimination (of the need to register and control) farms that are not a potential threat to the environment

• research is based on own observations, measurements, terrain examinations and laboratory analysis

• research includes data and information collected directly from farms. The data relate mainly to current trends and the level of plant and animal production (temporal and spatial range)

The project has been completed on 1 November 2011. Some tasks, however, require follow-up.

Done in the project: The project includes a detailed analysis of various sizes, specialization and intensity of agricultural production in terms of risk to water

For the selection of farms developed an effective system of global identification doesn’t exist so far. The system (SSI) will improve management control components, and allow efficient monitoring of agricultural production in terms of environmental protection, especially water. In the future, SSI may be an unique tool used widely in the country and abroad for analysis and identification of agricultural practices and their compliance with the universal standards.

dr in. Jerzy Mirosaw Kupiec, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Department of Ecology & Environmental Protection, Poland

Agricultural Advisory Centers, farmers, agricultural professionals, the Offices of the Municipality, Regional Water Management Authorities, Voivodship Inspectorates for Environmental Protection)

The activities necessary for implementation and functioning of the SSI in the European market is to develop software that will enable rapid assessment of different types of farms in terms of water risks and test the system on a specific group of farms, to confirm its functionality.

Dissemination of the project and output.

Necessary condition for SSI will be launch a wider consultation with experts in the field of statistics and agricultural chemistry. Expected duration is 5 months. Currently, additional data are collected from farms to get the biggest range of data. An imp