THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EDUCATION IN PROMOTING THE IDEA OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN AGRICULTURE IN THE POMERANIAN VOIVODESHIP

At present, agricultural production is required not only to meet goals related to producing food, but also to observing the laws of environmental protection. Farmers should be aware that agricultural production is part of the environment and farming cannot destroy the natural world. Therefore, it becomes necessary to implement the principles of sustainable development and social responsibility in agriculture through developing the environmental awareness of farmers. The aim of the study was to identify and evaluate the significance of education for sustainable development and social responsibility in agriculture in the opinion of farmers themselves. The poll included 386 respondents from the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The study showed that farmers are not particularly interested in the problems of sustainable development and social responsibility in agriculture, and they have little knowledge about the subject, which means that there is an urgent need for a constant transfer of knowledge to farmers, with the most significant role played by school education as well as training and workshops ran by Agricultural Advisory Centres.