Agriculture is an important sector of the European Union in social, economic and environmental terms. To ensure the sustainability of the sector, improvements are needed in key operations. Weeding is one of the most important activities affecting farm productivity, farmer safety, food safety and security, and the state of the environment. New technical and organizational solutions are needed to achieve the goals of the EU policy for sustainable agriculture. One of the advanced techniques is laser-based weed control. It is important to fully understand the impact of the introduction of these techniques on markets and agricultural practices in the context of sustainability. For this reason, a social life cycle analysis (S-LCA) was carried out. The method applied in the study was based on a participatory approach. The assessment was carried out from three perspectives: the general society, the farmers and the business perspective in relation to agriculture. Expert interviews based on questionnaires and workshops were conducted to gather opinions on the impact of new laser technology on specific aspects of its implementation. The results show generally positive effects from all perspectives, especially from the farmers’ perspective. From the farmers’ point of view, the most favored factors influencing the widespread introduction of WLAT are the economic consequences, the most important of which are the production costs associated with the introduction of the new technology. According to business experts, the perspective of business development, with particular emphasis on new prospects for businesses and development, is the most important factor. The quality of life and the environment are most valued by society.

Agriculture and rural regions in Europe face a number of economic, social, and environmental challenges. Rural areas are active players in the EU’s green transition. Weeding is one of the most important factors in agricultural production. New weeding techniques are being developed to enhance sustainability. Among them, laser-based weeding seems to be a promising alternative to the use of chemicals. The WeLASER technique is a novel technique for weed control. Its successful implementation depends on many factors related to the innovation itself, policy context, farming conditions, and users’ attitudes. A survey was carried out to provide insight into the attitudes towards the innovative (laser) weed control tool (autonomous robot). The CATI method was selected for the surveying of farmers’ opinions and carried out in three countries: Denmark, Spain, and Poland. Statistical methods were applied to analyze the results. This study provided knowledge on how farmers see the barriers and opportunities related to implementing the device in practice. Positive attitudes of farmers were observed but with high expectations related to the quality of the technique and the systemic conditions of its implementation.

The article aims to evaluate – from the point of view of selected socio-economic aspects – the implementation of an innovative weed control technology into agricultural practice using laser energy targeted at reducing pesticide use. The achievement of the stated objective required an analysis of the research output concerning the problem of pesticide sustainability in European Union agriculture and an analysis of EU policies in this field. The paper also utilises data obtained through research by conducting in-depth interviews with representatives of three stakeholder groups: farmers, society and business. The subject of the interviews was to assess the impact of large-scale dissemination of an innovative weed control technology on selected socio-economic aspects. The article is one of the first studies to assess the social impact of innovative technologies using artificial intelligence and laser technology for weed control in agriculture. The implementation of this technology can have a significant impact on running farms in a more sustainable way, but a prerequisite for its successful use is the inclusion of social and economic considerations.

Agriculture is an important sector of European Union in societal , economic and environmental dimensions. Sustainability of the sector require improvements in its key operations. Weeding is one of the crucial operation having impact on farms’ productivity, safety for farmers, food security and environmental state. To achieve EU policy goals of sustainable agriculture there are needed new technical and organizational solutions. One of the advanced techniques are laser based weeding technique. It is important to understand well the impacts of introduction of these tech-niques to the markets and agricultural practice in sustainability context. For that reason Social Life Cycle Assessment was performed. The method was based on participatory approach. The as-sessment was carried in three perspectives: general society, farmers, and business perspective re-lated to agriculture. Expert interviews based on questionnaires and workshops were realized to get the opinions on the impacts of a new laser technique on particular aspects of its implementation. The results show generally positive impact in all perspectives, especially in the perspective of farmers.

Agriculture and rural regions in Europe face a number of economic, social and environmental challenges. Rural areas are active players in the EU’s green transitions. Weeding is one of the most important factors of agricultural production. New weeding techniques are being developed to enhance sustainability. Among them laser based weeding seems a promising alternative for use of chemicals. WeLASER technique is a novel technique of weed control. Its successful implementation depends on many factors related to the innovation itself, policy context, farming conditions and users’ attitudes. Survey was carried out to provide the insight on the attitudes toward the innova-tive (laser) weed control tool (device - autonomous robot). The CATI method was selected for the survey of farmers opinion and carried out in three countries: Denmark, Spain and Poland. Statistical methods were applied to analyze the results. The study provided knowledge on how farmers see the barriers and opportunities of implementing the device in practice. Positive attitudes of farmers were observed but with high expectations related to quality of the technique and systemic conditions of its implementation.