Farmers are willing to protect water quality but do not believe agriculture is a leading source of pollution

Just half of farmers believe that water pollution is a relevant issue in their local area.

Researchers found a "relatively low level of acknowledgement that agriculture is a leading source of nutrient loads in local water catchments" by farmers, and described this as a "concern".

Just half of all farmers believe water pollution is a relevant issue in their local area, while almost two in three farmers believe that they are already doing enough to protect water quality, new research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.

The research titled 'Farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and intentions towards water quality and pollution risk mitigation actions' has assessed farmers' willingness to mitigate the risks of water pollution in line with the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) advice.