Sustainability and Social Farming in the Czech Republic: The Impact of Selected Factors on the Employment of Disadvantaged Persons in Agriculture

Tomáš Chovanec, Festus Onyebuchi Eze (), Atif Muhammad, Jan Moudrý, Petr Bartoš, Chisenga Emmanuel Mukosha and Okechukwu George Eke
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Tomáš Chovanec: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Festus Onyebuchi Eze: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Atif Muhammad: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Jan Moudrý: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Petr Bartoš: Department of Technology and Cybernetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Chisenga Emmanuel Mukosha: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Okechukwu George Eke: Department of Agroecosystems, Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, University of South Bohemia, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: In the agricultural sector, where factors like the type of agriculture, management techniques, and access to funding are critical, disadvantaged people face significant barriers to employment. This study investigated the effects of these factors, especially with regard to sustainability and social farming, on the employment of disadvantaged persons in the Czech Republic. We sent questionnaires to 2036 agricultural businesses within the Czech Republic, and the data we received were sorted and analyzed. There was a favorable relationship between farm size and employment chances. Disadvantaged people were more likely to be hired by large farms, especially those larger than 250 hectares. Furthermore, mixed-production farms were more capable of employing disadvantaged persons, unlike conventional farms, which reached their maximum employment levels at one, three, or six workers. Organic farming had a more even distribution, while biodynamic farming showed limited capacity to employ disadvantaged persons. Farms involved in fundraising had fewer farms but employed more disadvantaged persons (number of employees peaked at two, four, and six), while farms that did not engage in fundraising hired more disadvantaged individuals (peaked at one and three employees). The motivations for employing disadvantaged persons were primarily social concerns, as well as labor shortages and economic and innovative factors. These findings show the importance of agricultural enterprises using these factors to improve the social and economic well-being of disadvantaged persons.

Keywords: agricultural production; organic farms; biodynamic farms; management regime; Czech agricultural sector; fundraising (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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