Energy Efficiency in Agricultural Production—Experience from Land Consolidation in Poland and Finland

Abstract

Land consolidation in rural areas is greatly influenced by a number of social, agricultural, and economic factors. They extend the time and complicate activities related to the implementation of this project. Land consolidation is a huge investment, requiring a good and up-to-date map. Up-to-date data that reflects reality are the basis for good and efficient land consolidation in rural areas. To improve the creation of a land consolidation project, the most appropriate solution would be to place all the necessary data to create a land consolidation project on “geoportals” websites. Providing data on the websites of geoportals in Poland and Finland in the form of a map portal would enable both visual and substantive analysis of spatial changes in rural areas. Therefore, this article pursues two main scientific goals. The first purpose of this article is to analyze the history and scope of land consolidation in Poland and Finland in order to learn the specifics of land consolidation in a given country. Comparisons and analyses were made on the basis of the authors’ experience in Poland and Finland with land consolidation in the areas described. The second scientific goal of the article is to compare the availability of geospatial data in the context of the methodology of performing land consolidation in rural areas, which leads to increased energy efficiency in agricultural production by reducing the need for energy, especially fuel for agricultural machinery. The results from the table with a list of geoportals in Poland and Finland are a summary of the data available for free. Thanks to it, land consolidation contractors around the world will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with and perhaps use this data when creating a rural land consolidation project. Good land consolidation planning will lead to effective and economical use of rural space. This is part of the 2030/2050 strategy. Reducing agricultural production costs, lower fuel consumption, and a smaller carbon footprint. This is what Poland and Finland are striving for as countries belonging to the European Union.

The Impact of Purchasing New Agricultural Machinery on Fuel Consumption on Farms

“…Balawejder et al [2,35] emphasize the importance of the tendency to increase the area of agricultural parcels in both Poland and Finland, taking into account the energy benefits of the change. The authors point out that land consolidation in rural areas leads to an increased energy efficiency of agricultural production through reduced energy demand, especially fuel for agricultural machinery.…”

“…As noted by Balawejder [2], Poland ranks ninth out of twenty-seven EU member states in terms of the percentage relation of agricultural land to the country's area. Many authors emphasize that the high fragmentation of agricultural land puts Poland at the forefront of countries that urgently need land consolidation in rural areas [3][4][5][6].…”