CONVERSION POSSIBILITIES TO ORGANIC FARMING IN THE WATER PROTECTION ZONE OF APAŠKO POLJE

Pri kmetovalcih, ki kmetujejo na vodovarstvenem območju Apaškega polja, smo proučevali, ali obstaja možnost preusmeritve v ekološko kmetijstvo. Ekološko kmetijstvo bi bilo primerno za Apaško polje, ker gre za notranje vodovarstveno območje in Apaška kotlina je znana po tem, da je kmetijsko zelo intenzivna. Anketo smo pripravili za dve skupini kmetovalcev in primerjali odgovore ter pogledali odstopanja. Prvo anketo so izpolnili kmetovalci, ki imajo zemljišča na najožjem vodovarstvenem območju, drugo pa tisti, ki imajo zemljišča na širšem vodovarstvenem območju. Ob pregledu obširne literature smo preučili, da je v tujini, predvsem v Nemčiji, dosti bolje poskrbljeno za zaščito podtalnice, kjer je ekološko kmetijstvo na najožjih vodovarstvenih območjih stalna praksa. Rezultati naše raziskave so pokazali, da kmetovalci na nobenem območju niso zainteresirani za preusmeritev svojih kmetij v ekološko kmetovanje. Glavni razlog predstavlja prepoved uporabe dušikovih mineralnih gnojil v ekološki pridelavi in pričakovanje manjših pridelkov.The study deals with conversion possibilities to organic farming of the farmers, who already pursue farming on water protection zone of Apaško polje. Organic farming would be suitable for Apaško polje, since it is an inner water protection zone and the basin Apaška kotlina is known for its intensive farming. The survey was carried out on two groups of farmers, followed by the comparison of the results and review of the derogations. The first survey was answered by the farmers whose agricultural land is in the narrowest water protection zone, whereas the second survey was carried out with farmers whose agricultural land is in the wider water protection zone. After a comprehensive literature review, we came to a conclusion that among European countries, it is especially Germany that pays a lot of attention to its groundwater protection and where organic farming in the narrowest water protection zones is a common practice. The results of the study show that farmers neither on the narrowest nor on the wider water protection zone are interested in the conversion to organic farming. The most compelling reason for such outcome is the prohibition to use mineral nitrogen fertilizers in the organic farming and the expectancy of the decrease in the yield