Understanding Farmers’ Attitudes Toward Agricultural Landscape Practices to Achieve More Sustainable Rural Planning

Jelena Despotović, Mirjana Ljubojević (), Tijana Narandžić () and Vesna Rodić
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Jelena Despotović: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Mirjana Ljubojević: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Tijana Narandžić: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Vesna Rodić: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia’s most agriculturally developed region, lies within the fertile Pannonian plain. Decades of agricultural intensification have transformed its landscape into a near continuous expanse of arable land, largely devoid of natural elements such as trees, shrubs, or non-crop vegetation. These simplified agroecosystems support very low biodiversity, contradicting the key principles of sustainable agricultural development. To assess farmers’ willingness to support more ecologically sound landscape practices, a survey was conducted of 400 farmers across Vojvodina. The results revealed limited openness to change; i.e., most respondents expressed a low interest in all three offered interventions: (a) introducing landscape elements, (b) fallowing, (c) converting arable land to grassland. This resistance reflects a prevailing productivist mindset in which farmers perceive themselves as producers of food, raw materials, and energy. Within this view, a neat, highly cultivated landscape is perceived as a hallmark of professionalism and success. These findings underscore the importance of developing context-sensitive policies and educational efforts that align sustainability goals with farmers’ values and economic realities.

Keywords: agricultural landscape management; farmer attitudes; fallow land; sustainable agriculture; agri-environmental practices; Vojvodina (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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