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Integrating farmer perspectives in microplastic contamination in arable fields: Insights from the MiCoS project in the Benelux region
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The MiCoS project integrated farmer perspectives into a large-scale microplastic sampling campaign across 240 agricultural fields in the Benelux region, examining how microplastic pollution affects plant and soil health. Farmer engagement was a key enabler of the field campaign, providing access and local knowledge necessary for representative sampling.
The MiCoS project aims to investigate the impact of microplastic (MP) pollution on both plant and soil health in agricultural fields. To achieve this goal, we conducted a large-scale sampling across 240 agricultural fields in the Benelux. A crucial step in the project, was motivating farmers to participate, ensuring a balanced geographical representation and comprehensive data collection. We launched our website, www.micos.ugent.be, to subscribe and facilitated a communication campaign through various channels, including radio, national TV, regional agricultural magazines, agricultural fairs, and direct contact with farmers. Through consistent messaging across these diverse platforms, we successfully reached 422 registrations. Upon registration via our website, farmers were requested to complete a questionnaire regarding the location and agricultural practices for each field such as soil texture, application of compost, plastic mulching, .... Fields were selected based on a risk-assessment index of potential MP presence by taking into account agricultural practices, but also the proximity to potential MP sources such as landfills, industrial zones, larger cities, and highways. With this information, we could select fields with both a low and high risk within the different pedoclimatological zones within the Benelux. To maintain farmer engagement, we provide regular updates through newsletters and blogs. Additionally, we conducted surveys to understand their motivation for participating in this research and their preferences for future studies on MP contamination. It is evident that farmers highly value effective communication efforts. Altogether, with this approach, we do hope that farmers are engaged as active participants in ongoing research efforts, fostering a collaborative environment that promotes sustainable solutions to mitigate microplastic pollution in agricultural systems. Also see: https://micro2024.sciencesconf.org/559729/document
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