The Use of Modern Technologies in Decision-Making by Polish Farmers

Modern technological solutions, such as information and communication technologies may significantly contribute to the proper decision-making process in farming. Using data and intelligent decision-making support systems can improve the productivity and profitability of farming and stimulate sustainable development. With modern technology, agricultural data, such as weather information, soil conditions, land use, and animal diseases, can be collected, analysed and processed to help farmers make the right decisions and achieve better production results. Therefore, the question should be: What kind of farmers’ decisions are influenced by modern technologies? Is it possible to distinguish groups of farmers similar in implementing modern technologies? The research covered 86 farm owners located in various regions of Poland. These farms varied in terms of area, and the average area of a farm was about 107 ha. The research distinguished three segments of farmers: firstly, enthusiasts of modern technologies, who had no problems using them; the second group were sceptics, who did not use modern technologies; and the third one was the farmers, who used modern technologies, but often had problems with their use.