Valuing Environmental and Social Outcomes of Agriculture in Poland: Evidence from a Large-Scale Partial-Profile Discrete Choice Experiment

Agriculture generates environmental and social outcomes that are not fully reflected in market prices, creating a challenge for agricultural policy appraisal. This study estimates the preferences and marginal willingness to pay (WTP) of adult residents of Poland for eight agricultural sustainability outcomes. Data were collected between 17 April 2026 and 1 July 2026 through a nationwide computer-assisted web survey of 6454 residents of Poland aged 18–64, who completed 51,632 unlabelled choice tasks. A partial-profile design displayed four of the eight non-monetary attributes plus a cost attribute in each task and choices were analysed using a panel random-parameters logit model. The highest positive mean WTP estimates concerned maximum animal welfare (276.47 PLN per person per year), clean rivers and lakes (231.32 PLN), animal welfare above the legal minimum (203.72 PLN), and a landscape combining arable fields and pastures with animals (168.95 PLN). Respondents also preferred a mixed farm-size structure to the dominance of any single farm type. Positive and statistically significant mean WTP was also found for lower agricultural GHG emissions, high farmland biodiversity, effective soil-erosion protection, and changes in agricultural production methods. Significant preference heterogeneity was found for all coefficients specified as random in the final model. The results provide marginal welfare measures relevant to agricultural policy appraisal, but they refer to the specific changes evaluated and should not be interpreted as a complete ranking of policy objectives.