Czech farmers' perspectives on sustainable agriculture and water management: Implications for climate change adaptation

Climate change significantly challenges agricultural water management, requiring a shift to sustainable practices. This study examines Czech farmers' attitudes towards sustainable agriculture and water management based on a survey of 1176 farmers. We use traditional and innovative methods, such as factor analysis, ANOVA, and machine learning, to uncover patterns in the data. Additionally, we apply AI language model methods to reclassify open-ended responses, enhancing our understanding of farmers' attitudes. Results show that 98.4 % of farmers recognize the importance of water retention, and 79.2 % are willing to adopt nature-based measures. Organic farmers are more interested in water management measures than conventional farmers (p < 0.01). A significant majority (91.7 %) of farmers perceive climate change as a threat. Interestingly, our findings reveal a weak but significant negative correlation (r = -0.11, p < 0.05) between farm size and willingness to invest in water management measures, which contrasts with international trends where larger farms typically show greater willingness to invest. This divergence highlights the unique structural and historical context of Czech agriculture. Our innovative analytical approaches uncover complex relationships between various factors influencing farmers' attitudes, providing a nuanced view of the issue. These findings offer essential insights for developing targeted agricultural policies and strategies for climate change adaptation in the Czech Republic, highlighting the need for differentiated approaches based on farm characteristics and regional specifics.