RESEARCH PAPER
PLACE AND ROLE OF LARGE-SCALE FARMS IN POLISH AGRICULTURE
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Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics National Research Institute
Submission date: 2024-04-04
Final review date: 2024-05-05
Acceptance date: 2024-11-28
Publication date: 2024-12-23
Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics 2024;381(4):1-22
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ABSTRACT
The main aim of this study is to assess changes in the structure of farms in Poland after the political
and economic transformations initiated in 1989. Changes in the structure of farms and their areas
will be presented against the background of selected European Union (EU) countries. The following
EU-15 countries were selected: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Of the countries that joined the EU in 2004, the selected nations
were Czechia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Hungary, and in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania. In analyzing
changes in the structure of farms in Poland, special attention was paid to the place and role of largescale
farms. The sources of research materials were statistical data and literature. The comparative
method was used in the analysis of research materials. The faster rate of increase in labor costs in
the national economy and the prices of inputs for agriculture compared to the selling prices of agricultural
products caused a decline in the unit profitability of agricultural production. In this situation,
farmers reacted defensively by increasing the scale of production, mainly by expanding farm
areas, which led to the creation of large-scale enterprises of 100 hectares or more of agricultural
land. In Poland, a factor conducive to the creation of such units was the ownership transformation of
state-owned farms (PGRs) caused by the political and economic changes in 1989. The current policy
towards large-scale enterprises leasing State Treasury land threatens their functioning. Restricting
the development possibilities of this group of enterprises is not conducive to improving the structure
of farms. It threatens to reduce production and may also cause social unrest because these enterprises
are significant employers in rural areas.