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The paper addresses the problem of challenges posed by the global market in the field of sustainable development objectives and the enterprises' ability to achieve them. The leading entrepreneurs are developing increasingly innovative and original socially responsible strategies. At the same time, entrepreneurs who do not create long-term strategies are lagging behind. The paper discusses corporate social responsibility on the food market, and more precisely on the dairy market. The analysis covered socially responsible activities undertaken by dairy companies from the Top 10 list. Particular attention has been paid to the crucial link in a supply chain - dairy farmers. Nowadays, consumer surveys show that, when it comes to dairy companies, they care where the milk comes from and how it is produced, how the cows are treated and how the company engages in cooperation with suppliers. There are companies on the dairy market in Poland who have launched a strategic approach to CSR a long time ago by implementing many innovations in creating a competitive advantage on the market. There are companies who have successfully adapted to changes and also those that cannot combine economic, social and environmental goals. The study aims to make a contribution to further detailed research on creating competitive advantage based on sustainable business models in dairy enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to present the most important problem of VAT in Polish agriculture. The key issue concerns the assessment of the attempt to optimize the economic and financial performance of the VAT settlement. The farmer chooses and settles VAT in a flat-rate system or according to the general rules. The question is which form is more favourable. On the basis of mathematical formulas, an appropriate criterion has been selected for the choice of the form of VAT settlements in agriculture. Even though VAT has been functioning in Polish agriculture for many years, its rules are misinterpreted. From the point of view of the ordinary farmer, it means many cases of erroneous choices which, consequently, reduce his efficiency. This paper systemises knowledge in this regard. It also shows possible changes in the law and their potential impact on farmers’ choices of a VAT taxation form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the directions of the development of food consumption in Poland in view of the changes occurring in the EU. The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship between the level of economic development of a country and the consumers’ standard of living. The starting point of the discussion is an interdisciplinary presentation of the current development of the theory of consumption. Next, the changes in food consumption in Poland are presented against the background of general European trends in 2009–2015. The explored trends include both the quantitative and qualitative transformations in the amounts and structure of food consumption. This paper was developed based on secondary information sources published by the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Eurostat. It has been shown that the presented direction of changes follows in step of the research in this field performed during the last 15 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic development is one of the major research topics undertaken in economic sciences. It is a multidimensional and wide concept. The problems discussed in this paper are extremely essential not only from the point of view of countries, but also their regions and smaller territorial units. The development of border areas as one aspect of the aforementioned phenomenon is an important and interesting matter to look at. Such areas are universally regarded as peripheral and less-developed. Peripherality is a complex notion, although it is accepted that geographic accessibility is not the only or prevailing determinant of the development of lands situated along state borders. The purpose of this paper is to assess the socioeconomic development of Poland’s eastern borderland. The borderland encompasses three regions, or voivodeships: Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Podkarpackie. Perkal’s Index was used to assess the level of their socioeconomic development. The data to build the model on was derived from the Central Statistical Office. The analysis was carried out for 2004 and 2016 for all the 16 voivodeships of Poland, which allowed for comparisons to be made between them. The research showed that the level of socioeconomic development differed between the regions. In 2004, the three eastern borderland voivodeships scored the lowest in terms of the development indices when compared to the rest of the country. By 2016, the situation of the regions concerned had slightly improved. Among them, Podkarpackie Voivodeship had developed the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area covered by protected areas in Poland amounts to 33.1 %; the region with the highest percentage of areas covered by them is in the SwietokrzyskieVoivodeship – 62 %. These areas are usually landscape parks and protected landscape areas. The basic of development of protected areas should be based on the production of high quality food and food processing. The aim of this paper is to present the problem of ecodevelopment of protected areas in Poland – legal aspects. The work discusses theoretical issues of instruments and institutions with reference to protected areas of Poland. Following the topic, the role of inhabitants and institutions in ecodevelopment of protected areas has been analysed. The problem of strategic management in the context of ecodevelopment has been raised in this paper. Special attention is paid to the participation of the public institutions and the authorities in ecodevelopment of protected areas. The main problems are law and instruments, which should supportecodevelopment of protected areas. The work ends with a brief conclusion.The conclusionsuggeststhat institutional support is very important for development, especially economic instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the problems of the financing of cultural heritage in rural areas through EU funds in selected voivodships (Wielkopolskie, Lodzkie and Lubuskie) of Central Poland in the years 2007-2015. It examines the structure and the level of differentiation of the utilization of EU funds for projects related to the protection and promotion of cultural heritage depending on the spatial category of beneficiaries: rural communes and small towns, which together are treated as rural areas (separate analyses were conducted for rural areas situated in the vicinity of agglomeration, and for those located outside the sphere of influence of the voivodship capitals), counties, cities with district rights as well voivodship capitals. The study used the database of the projects co-funded by the European Union, which is available in the National System for Information Monitoring and Control (KSI SIMIK 07-13) - information as of 31st December 2015. The paper shows that in rural areas the projects thematically related to the creation of a new tourism product and development of sports and recreation infrastructure played the dominant role, while in voivodship capitals and in urban areas most of the activities were carried out in the field of revaluation of cultural heritage objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opportunities for women professional advancement in rural areas are much lower compared with urban. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the role of women in management bodies of different generally public institutions conducting activity in rural areas. For analysis, the concept of "glass ceiling" was applied. The investigation was carried out on the sample of randomly chosen rural gminas (basic units of administrative division in Poland). In the paper, structures (by sex) of the authorities of leading public entities in 60 gminas were examined. The analysis results confirmed the validity of the concept of glass ceiling in rural areas in member countries of European Union and in Poland as well. It is hardly to find women on the gmina mayor position. There is a serious problem how to encourage women to apply for this position and stand as a candidate in elections. Gminas where woman is a mayor are rather small (by area and inhabitants number). Better situation is observed in gminas' councils where the proportion of women in total number of counsellors is amounted to 27 %. It corresponds with the position of women as village mayors at the village level. It is worth to mention, that in rural areas women prevail on the top positions in schools and libraries what stems from high degree of feminisation of the school and culture systems in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper was the analysis and evaluation of the economic and natural significance as well as the functions of protected areas within three mountain ranges in Poland. These are: Carpathians, Sudetes and Swietokrzyskie Mountains, where in total there are located 182 rural and rural-urban municipalities, that characterize different shares of individual forms of nature conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Poland's accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004 has offered the great opportunities for the modernization of the Polish agriculture in the form of access to vast range of support under Common Agricultural Policy, the state aid existing before accession was not abandoned. The aim of the paper is to assess the scope and size of the domestic support for the investment in agriculture in the context of the support for such activity under the EU Rural Development Programs (RDPs) in years 2004-2017. The examination revealed that in the period of Poland's membership in the EU, the state credit aid system has conducted operations on slightly changed rules, however, in 2015 the scope of the credit support was reduced noticeably. The comparison of the number of beneficiaries and value of the state credit aid and aid under RDPs during three financial perspectives indicates the very important relative role of preferential credits in financing the modernisation of the Polish agriculture. Nearly one quarter of market oriented agricultural holdings used preferential credits in years 2004-2017, while the small and semi subsistence farms were important group of beneficiaries of RDP. Although the difference between the nature of the state and EU aids (repayable credits and subsidised expenditures) they complemented each other. The decrease in the preferential credit lines and following fall in the number of credits, suggest that the role of the preferential credits in modernisation and restructuring of the agriculture will fall unavoidably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to present milk supply chain in Poland on the background of the EU in the years 2004-2017. The authors used tabular and descriptive methods to present the changes in the supply chains. We have measured three stages of supply chain of milk: production, wholesale supply and consumption in the years 2013-2017. The survey proved that the biggest wholesale supply of cow's milk in the EU in 2017 was in Germany (31 939 thousand tons), France (24 539), the Netherlands (14 297) and the United Kingdom (15 134). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistical analysis of Polish food enterprises is done to present economic situation of agro-food industry in Poland. In analysis, nonparametric approach is chosen as effective and simple method of studying variables in populations. This approach is widely used, especially when additional information about regarded variable is not available (as often happens in economic researches). Two nonparametric estimation methods are taken into consideration: kernel density estimation and bootstrap confidence interval. The special emphasis is taken on choosing the proper values of parameters in kernel density estimation and choosing the most effective bootstrap interval among these presented in literature. The study concerns applying basic descriptive statistics and nonparametric estimation of number of employees and revenues total of Polish food enterprises, using kernel method for estimating the density function and bootstrap confidence interval for median of regarded variable. Results and conclusions from the study can be useful for the users of nonparametric methods in economic researches. The main research aim of the paper is to present and examine some statistical procedures that can be used in the analysis of economic situation of chosen enterprises connected strictly with food production. The good properties of regarded methods allow compering some regions of country to indicate these regions where there are friendly conditions for the food production enterprises, including the natural character of region (rural or urban area). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We live in times of unprecedented economic and social changes, as well as accelerated medical progress in the sphere of improving health and extending human life. Although these are changes rated as positive, they also give birth negative consequences for the generation of today's sixty-year-olds. The future demography processes in Poland have similar tendency like in other EU member countries. In many European countries public activation and participation in the commune life is very popular idea. One of the method to activate elderly population is creating the Senior Councils. The main aim of the research was recognition of the peculiarities of functioning and development of the Senior Councils in Poland. The authors decided to make investigation in this areas taking into consideration changes which took place in the country within 2012-2018. In the research paper the descriptive and comparative methods were used. Development of the Senior Councils is important for the commune authorities create local law adapted to the needs of older people. Members of the Senior Councils have knowledge and life experience that they can share with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the main reasons for the intensity of triticale production in various regions of Poland. The analysis was based on statistical data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS) for the years 2015- 2017, compiled by voivodships. The statistical analysis was performed on 19 variables. Cluster analysis was used to group voivodships. Five groups of voivodships were distinguished, which differed in triticale production. The intensity of triticale production in the regions of Poland is determined by the intensity of animal production (pigs, cattle, poultry population) and structural and organisational factors. The amount of triticale yields obtained is determined by the intensity of farming and the level of agricultural culture. The Wielkopolskie Voivodeship and the central and eastern parts of Poland have a significant share in the national production of triticale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is natural for Poland's regions to differ in development. Differences result, among others, from attractiveness of location, deposits of raw materials, availability of human capital, and access to infrastructure and financial resources. Economic potential constitutes an important factor in the development process. The aim of the paper is to analyse spatial disparities in communal development against the background of economic potential. In the analysis, the TOPSIS method was used for the construction of the synthetic measure. The investigations were based on the data from Local Data Bank of Central Statistical Office for years 2012, 2014 and 2017, and also from Regional Accounting Chamber. They made it possible to create synthetic measures of economic potential and development of rural communes of the Swietokrzyskie province. Economic potential includes local labour market, level and type of entrepreneurship and infrastructure. The level and structure of economic potential are a condition of communal development. The communes of Sitkowka-Nowiny and Morawica, affected by the proximity of Kielce city, are the highest evaluated units. As their agricultural function is fading away, the industrial one is growing in importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents trends of nitrogen management intensity changes. The comparative analysis of nitrogen management in the period 2002-2016 was performed at FADN regions of Poland level. It included comparisons of balances and efficiency of nitrogen utilization as well as rate and direction of nitrogen input and output in the agricultural production cycle. The structural and quantitative analysis of both sides of gross nitrogen balance provides information about the agricultural production as well as the direction and rate of changes . Although there was a visible, moderate intensification (A= type) of agricultural production in Poland, a significant differences between four regions of Poland were found. FADN region 785 (Pomorze i Mazury) had positive rating of agro-environmental aspects and nitrogen management. On the other hand, FADN region 790 (Wielkopolska i SSlask) was characterized by ineffective intensification of plant production (increased nitrogen inputs with low effect in nitrogen output). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small farms play an important role in the sustainable development of rural areas. However, the data indicate that their number has been gradually decreasing. The reason for this reduction is the low profitability of production, combined with the uncertainty created by the high risk of agricultural production. In this context, it is important to create an appropriate risk management strategy that will ensure stable income and allow continuing agricultural production. The aim of the publication is to assess the activities of small farms in terms of price and production risk management. The paper also presents a relationship between the range of instruments used and the basic characteristics of farms. Finally, the agricultural households are assessed from the point of view of the methods of production planning. The article uses unpublished data from a questionnaire survey conducted on a group of 710 small farms in Poland at the turn of 2017/2018. The results of the analysis indicate that the level of risk management in the studied group is very small. The only commonly used instrument included obligatory insurance of production facility. Every third producer insured crops, and every fourth diversified production. The remaining methods were used very rarely. In addition, most farms used only one or two risk management instruments. A positive correlation was found between the number of the management tools used and the level of manager's education, the size of agricultural area, the level of estimated income and the share of goods sold on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on social dimension of sustainability is rather underdeveloped when it comes to farms. This paper contains presentation and assessment of parameters describing mental comfort of Polish farmers participating in FADN. Basing on the representative sample of 600 farmers, we concluded that the distribution of mental comfort index was close to normal. The index of mental comfort and the index of living conditions were not correlated, but we could observe low, positive correlations between the index of mental comfort and the economic size of the farm. According to the survey, the farmers are rather overworked. They feel less stress when they can manage the risk and more when they have No influence on the situation. About 1/3 feel frustrated because they do not understand some of the law regulations concerning their type of activeness. The level of mental comfort was positively correlated with the level of education of the respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an analysis of the farms manager by young farmers. The research was carried out in 2018 in the Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship and included two groups, including 32 young farmers and 48 farmers aged 40 or over. Participants of the study were farmers who cooperate with the Warmian-Masurian Agricultural Advisory Center and run development farms, with a commodity character of production. The aim of the research was to find the answer to the question whether young farmers using preferences under the Common Agricultural Policy are more willing than other farmers to modernize the farms which they manage. In the group of young farmers covered by the survey, the average area of farms managed by them was 31.47 ha, while in the case of farmers over 40 years old an average area of their farms was 112.46 ha. Older farmers owned 3.5 times larger farms compared to representatives of the group of young farmers. Young farmers worked on their own, while the older farmers mostly employed hired workers. The modernization of farms was mainly financed by own capital, while all of them, without exception, used the available support for modernization of the farm. Due to the high costs of modernization of production, and above all the necessity to increase its scale by purchasing land, further development of farms run by young farmers will be slow, evolutionary, as was the case for farms run by farmers from the comparative group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increasing globalization, innovations have become a basic method utilized by enterprises to gain competitive advantage and improve the efficiency of operations. Their introduction is a prerequisite for the growth of any business, however, in the case of the sector of small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs, the implementation of new solutions is their way to survive. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the expenditure made towards innovative activities of SMEs in Poland in 2012-2016. Data published by GUS (Statistics Poland) and Eurostat on innovative activities of SMEs in Poland have been used, with a special focus on the Małopolskie Voivodeship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present the role and importance of the Polish Farmers' Wives' Association, and to present the results of the author's own research into the financing of the associations' activity. This research is focused on analysing the activity of Polish women and the way they use EU funds in the context of rural women's associations. The author's own research was carried out in the Wielkopolska region (where the largest number of FWAs was recorded), and relied on a diagnostic survey questionnaire. The survey was conducted in January 2019. The figures collected were analysed with the use of selected statistical methods. This study provides a basis for further analyses. EU funds will certainly stimulate entrepreneurial activity among women in rural areas and will be an excellent stimulus for further action. In Poland, taking initiatives to establish the KGW is a little known phenomenon, but it is part of the concept of sustainable development. Thanks to legal changes, women can apply for EU funds, which they can use for various purposes, e.g. to promote local and regional dishes and cultural heritage. Creative activation of women in rural areas also increases their sense of entrepreneurship, which is important for them to enter public life and build cooperation between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper is to compare and assess the structure and value of implemented projects co-financed by EU funds in perspective 2007-2013 in rural areas in comparison to the urban ones. The objectives of the study were to classify investment priorities assigned to each project into smaller number of homogenous groups and to identify the share of EU funded projects in the different types of areas. Desk research, review of literature and databases, statistical and descriptive methods were used. The material used was database of projects implemented in the period 2007-2016 co-financed by EU structural funds in the programming period 2007-2013 as of June 2018. Polish rural areas have had the highest share of funds (above 10 %) allocated on construction of transport infrastructure, developing energy infrastructure, social infrastructure; and projects enhancing nature, tourism and cultural development. The proportions between the allocation in urban and rural areas were uneven - in most cases much more funds were spent in the cities and towns, which is clearly connected with the polarization - diffusion model of Polish regional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the concept of sustainable development adopted by the United Nations in 1987, with its foundations contained in the Enlightenment and Kant's philosophies of designing rational social development. It was stressed that successful social development is the responsibility of future generations. Fundamental humanistic, social and natural values were described as those realized as objectives of the concept of sustainable and multifunctional development of rural areas in Poland. The study also emphasized the need to involve older people from the rural environment in the implementation of these concepts in their place of residence. One of the forms of such an activity of seniors is silver economy in the commercial and non-commercial aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of paper was to present the activities of agricultural advisory centres aimed at the encouragement of entrepreneurship and promotion of non-agricultural functions in the rural areas. The study involved the analysis of documents made available by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the activity of agricultural advisory units in 2017 and mass statistics data provided by the Central Statistical Office. The basic tasks of agricultural advisory centres aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Polish agricultural sector, enhancing the quality of life in rural areas and improving professional qualifications of rural residents in Poland. Under the Common Agricultural Policy for 2014-2020, special measures have been taken to encourage farmers to set up their own business. The most important activities, also shaping entrepreneurial attitudes, aimed to support the development of small family businesses in the fields of agritourism, rural tourism, educational farms, small-scale on-farm processing and marketing of the manufactured products through short distribution chains (e.g. in the form of marginal limited local business), agricultural retail trade as well as direct sales and direct deliveries including labelling of packaged food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents general overview of the importance of information and information systems in agricultural sector. The aim of the paper is characteristics of the role of information in agriculture and its impact on the agricultural sector from European, particularly Polish and French perspectives. The authors underline that it is a crucial issue for the situation in the European Union agriculture. In the research paper the descriptive and comparative methods were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to indicate the main factors and barriers to the development of the enterprises which represent the bioeconomy sector and operate in valuable natural areas. Taking into consideration that the bioeconomy is a key and a potential sector, which should be developed in the environmentally valuable areas, the study identifies the most important factors for the development of the studied sector and desirable forms of supporting that activity. The paper presents the results of the research on a sample of 48 enterprises representing the bioeconomy sector located in 30 municipalities with the highest environmental valuables in Lublin voivodeship (Poland). The study shows that entrepreneurs who represent the bioeconomy sector perceived local ecological conditions as a key and a positive factor of company's development. The results are presented in a form of selected elements of descriptive statistics. The paper was prepared within the research project No 2011/01/D/HS4/03927 entitled "Environmental Conditions and Factors of Development of the Economic Functions of Valuable Natural Areas of Lublin Voivodeship" funded by the National Science Centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to provide an interdisciplinary concept of the bio-economy in the context of environmental changes in the Polish agriculture. Various definitions of bio-economy have been presented and its place in the sustainable development theory have been described. The aim of this paper is to present the environmental changes in Polish agriculture in the context of the bio-economy. For this purpose uses the information published by the Central Statistical Office and Eurostat. To showcase and presentation methods were used descriptive and tabular. The empirical part presents changes of the essential elements characterising the agricultural sector, in particular, in terms of its impact on the natural environment. An attempt has been made to discuss the changes in the context of the implementation of the principles of sustainable development as well as development of bio-economy in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In economics there has been a growing interest in non-material values, and the concept of social capital is regarded as an important endogenous factor of socio-economic development at regional and local level. This paper discusses the topic of a behavioural dimension of social capital in Poland. The aim of the study is to determine the activity of inhabitants in the formulation of development strategy of the commune by analyzing the case of rural and urban-rural communes. The participation of local citizens in strategy formulation is not obligatory but it guarantees the creation of a document to meet their real needs and it is very desirable from the perspective of the development of rural areas. The empirical section of the paper includes the findings of questionnaire surveys conducted in 2015 in the commune offices, relating to the way of the organization of the work on strategy, forms of inhabitants' participation and their involvement as well as conditioning factors of the inhabitants' activity. The survey conducted in the communes shows that there is a relatively low level of social capital in terms of its behavioural dimension. Respondents pointed to the following main causes of a low level of inhabitants' activity: lack of the knowledge of the importance of strategy and the opportunity to participate in its formulation, passivity, which is typical of rural areas, mentality, low level of trust in the authorities, lack of time and the lack of a sense that one can influence one's surroundings [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undertaking organic farming is conditioned by carrying out a series of tasks related to, inter alia, the implementation of the new procedures, technologies. This means that for the proper functioning, building regional capacity in this aspect, it is necessary to have support of institutions and organizations. Agricultural production (including organic food production) in this regard needs support not only from the corporate market but state institutions as well, including local government units. The aim of this paper is to estimate support for organic food production provided by local government units compared to other institutions and organizations. It has been verified whether the local government unit indicated by producers as the most crucial with reference to the support provided for organic producers would be Marshall's Office. Research material for the purpose of the following paper was collected from 43 households producing organic food in 30 communes out of the most valuable areas according to the rate formulated by D. Guzal-Dec as part of studying the ecological value of rural and urban-rural communes of Lublin voivodeship. The research was conducted by means of a diagnostic survey with the use of a questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, principles of granting financial aid within the Rural Development Programme aimed at agricultural producer groups are discussed. Producer groups and organizations play an important role in Polish agriculture. Through group activity Polish farmers obtain numerous benefits, achievement of which would be impossible if they acted on their own. Since Poland joined the European Union, entities could receive financial aid within the Rural Development Programme. In the 2014-2020 programming period, conditions to receive financial aid have significantly changed in comparison to previous periods. Most of all, financial support was aimed only at new groups which were approved before 1 January 2014 at the latest. Moreover, groups gathering producers of poultry, poultry meat (fresh and chilled), and fruit and vegetables groups were excluded from receiving financial aid within RDP 2014-2020. By 30 September 2017, Agricultural producer groups were paid nearly 240 million EUR. Introducing new restrictive regulations concerning support for producer groups and organizations may contribute to a breakdown of the process of creating these entities. Data indicate that the number of agricultural producer groups decreased significantly in comparison to e.g. 2013 when new legal regulations had not been applied yet. The aim of the paper is to discuss the mechanism of providing financial aid to agricultural producer groups within the Rural Development Programme. Analyses have been performed for three programming periods: 2004-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 (as of 30.09.2017). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lagging regions are characterised by coupling of numerous barriers to their development including the ones in the dimension of human and social capital. The concept of smart villages identifies the modes of overcoming these barriers. The aim of the paper was to operationalise and to evaluate social potential of smart village in case of lagging region (Lublin Province, Poland). A quantitative approach was applied during the research. The work uses a descriptive method in the theoretical part and statistical methods in the empirical part. In the light of the statistical analyses carried out in the research process, there has been no indication of a higher potential of rural-urban communes in comparison to rural units. The potential of social smart is strongly dispersed. A positive impact of larger urban centres in the region on the rural potential cannot be identified. However, certain concentrations can be distinguished in the framework of selected Local Action Groups (LAGs) that operate in Lublin Province. Since the peripheral regions are in particular sparsely populated by the creative class, and it is difficult to attract the creative class of people, it should be noted that investing in and promoting smart people becomes necessary catalysts for the implementation of smart villages concept. It is therefore essential to strengthen the connection between the regional and sub-regional scientific centres and commune self-governments. Fostering the activity of LAGs operating in the Community-Led Local Development (CLLD) approach in the framework of LEADER programme seems to be the desired direction of the support for endogenous potential of rural territorial units enabling the smart villages concept implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to identify the internal financing role in case of investment expenditures coverage role. The research sample is constituted from the food industry listed Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian companies. The investigated sample has 348 observations. The research horizon covers the period 2004 to 2016. Food industry due to the high operational risk connected with product price volatility often maintain the conservative strategy of financing. The role of internal capital was varied across studied countries sample. The highest importance in case of financing the investment by internal capital was recorded in Lithuania where the half of those funds were intended for investment in fixed assets issue. In case of economic downturn, the higher share of internal financing was left for the liquidity hedge and the lower investment expenditures were carried. The carried study confirmed the strong manager's preference in term of internal financing sources in case of growth strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present economic situation of food industry in Poland on the background of the EU countries in the years 2011-2015. The authors used tabular and descriptive methods to present the changes in the economic situation of food industry enterprises and analysed turnover, value added, number of employees and number of companies. We calculated the median, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewedness and kurtosis to analyse the changes in turnover and value added of food industry in EU countries. The survey proves that the food industry is developing well. Consolidation has been noticed, which means that the food companies are growing while their number is decreasing. The turnover of the food industry increased in the years 2011-2015 in almost in all EU countries, excluding Finland (-3.5 %) and Sweden (-5.7 %). The value added of the food industry decreased in the years 2011-2015 only in the Czech Republic (-6.9 %), the Netherlands (-2.1 %), Spain (-3.5 %). The number of food industry companies decreased in the years 2011- 2015 only in Austria (-0.7 %), Belgium (-9.4 %), Denmark (-0.2 %), Finland (-2.8 %), Germany (-2.5 %) and Spain (-13.3 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level and structure of household expenses is determined by the amount of income earned. In the analysed period, the results of the household budget survey indicate an increase in both the average monthly disposable income per one person of the household as well as the average monthly expenditure per person on consumer goods and services. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the shift in the level of farm household incomes in relation to households in general influences the change in expenditures on consumer goods and services. For the purpose of the study, secondary data obtained from the reports of the Central Statistical Office were used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the paper is to compare the investments in transport infrastructure with support of structural funds in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The specific objectives were: classification of projects connected with transport infrastructure development, calculation of the share of infrastructure projects in all EU funding and identification of types of beneficiaries. Desk research, review of literature and databases, statistical and descriptive methods were used. The material used was databases of projects implemented in the period 2007-2016 co-financed by EU structural funds in the programming period 2007-2013. Poland was the largest EU-funds for infrastructure absorber (30 billion EUR), and in Latvia and Lithuania the total values of all transport infrastructure supporting projects were very close to each other (1.7 billion EUR). The share of transport infrastructure funding among all EU co-financed projects was similar in all countries, although in Poland it was higher (31.2 %) than in Lithuania (21.7 %) and Latvia (24.8 %). Developing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and rail infrastructure projects (i.a. Rail Baltica connecting Warsaw with Kaunas) were the two types of projects with highest share in all countries. In Lithuania and Poland, there was quite high funding for national, regional and local roads and highways reconstruction, while in Latvia investments in sea ports took the third place in total share of funding. Nearly all airports in the three countries benefited from the EU funds. The structure of beneficiaries was very diversified in Poland, while in Lithuania all infrastructure investments were highly institutionally concentrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents possibilities of investments’ realization in Nature 2000 areas in Poland and majors of Nature 2000 communes opinions about role of the network in socio-economic development of managed areas by them. It was focused on the presentation of legal possibilities of investment, by conducting analysis of conditions which potential investor is obeyed to fulfil in order to invest in those protected areas. Basing on typified to research communes with network Nature 2000, laid on area of Green Lungs of Poland, there were presented majors’ opinions about restrictions and potential profits resulting from fact of Nature 2000 area possessing. It was underlined that most of inquired majors had declared that Nature 2000 areas in analysed communes had had limitations for inflow of investments and almost all of them had posited necessity of allocation of additional financial means by state budget in order to compensate for the effects resulting from Nature 2000 functioning in their areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on evolution of the economic structure is an important part of the state-of-the art in economics. As basic indices indicating the significance of agricultural sector have been decreasing, it is important to study a role of the primary sector for employment. This is especially reasonable for rural areas. The main aim of the paper is to investigate transformation of employment structure across predominantly rural Polish subregions (NUTS 3), particularly, changes in employment in the primary sector. Data of the Central Statistical Office of Poland on the sectoral structure of employment in predominantly rural Polish subregions in 2010 and 2016 were applied for the shift-share analysis. All predominantly rural subregions were characterized by relatively high rates of employment in the primary sector, both at the beginning as well as at the end of the investigated period. However, the primary and secondary sectors were characterized by negative values describing the industry-mix effect (IM), which indicates negative impact of subregional specialization – employment in these sectors grow slower comparing to the national average. There are only 10 (out of 31) subregions characterized by positive values of the regional shift effects (RS). Alongside with a negative industry-mix effect, it indicates that the primary sector was a poor performer nationally as a sector of employment but performance was better in these subregions than at the national level. Negative values both for IM and RS (21 subregions) indicate that the primary sector was a poor performer nationally as a sector of employment and even poorer in these subregions than at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been many problems regarding Polish agriculture before the accession to the European Union. The following main weaknesses were identified: fragmentation of farms, the use of obsolete methods for cultivation and breeding, low profitability of agricultural holdings, lack of additional functions in rural areas (processing, tourism, other services), relatively high unemployment (registered and hidden) or environmental problems. Many financial instruments have been used since 2004, some of which are worth mentioning, namely: direct payments, structural benefits, promotional investment loans for farmers, agri-environment programme subsidies, funds provided under the rural development programme. The EU accession resulted in the changes to the countryside, including: enlargement of average farm area, higher average income for farmers, extension of the area under integrated farm management, increase in the number of organic farms or fixed assets in agriculture. The main goal of the paper is to analyse the changes in Polish agriculture after joining the EU (in general and for the regions). A database was generated in line with Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) data. The correlation method and least squares method have been used in the course of the examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to present the issues of renewable energy sources and their importance in the development of rural areas. In Poland, renewable sources of energy, out of which 71 % are biomass-based, are created in rural areas. The desk research method of an analysis was used in the paper. The analysis of the subject literature and data from the GUS, URE and EUROSTAT databases have rendered it possible to establish the facts, verify the data and present the results obtained. The research has shown that renewable energy sources are a prospective direction of energy development of rural areas, which is mainly due to the availability and inexhaustibility of natural energy carriers. At present, the attitude towards RES has changed because of the lack of support for RES or unfavourable conditions for certain sectors of RES, to name but a few. While it is true that RES not only allow to secure the energy needs of the region and bring about many positive social and economic phenomena, meeting the 15 % requirement in 2020 might be problematic and it might prove necessary to purchase energy from neighbouring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In scientific literature, one can come across different approaches to the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is mainly due to the fact that individual dimensions of this phenomenon are very broad. Most studies of CSR focus on larger organizations, thus there are only few studies focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, there is a need to adapt the principles and instruments of corporate social responsibility to the specificity of the sector of small and medium enterprises, which is of great importance for the development of economies all over the world. The main goal of this paper is to describe the meaning of actions within CSR in the SME sector, both in Poland and in Latvia, taking into account the possibility of carrying them out and barriers in implementing them. The tasks of the research: 1) to explore the main areas of CSR which relate to SMEs and sustainable socio-economics development; 2) to observe and analyse CSR main areas for SMEs in Poland and Latvia; 3) to make conclusions about CSR importance for SMEs in sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU agricultural legislation explicitly acknowledges the role of producer organisations for realising the objectives of agricultural business activity. This form of cooperation contributes to strengthening the position of farmers in the economic reality, inter alia by optimising agricultural production costs, adapting to the requirements of foreign markets and obtaining higher prices through collective negotiations. In Poland, poor organization of agricultural producers remains one of the most important problems of Polish agriculture. The aim of this study is to evaluate the current process of forming agricultural producer organizations, with regard to factors conducive to the development of this form of team entrepreneurship as well as barriers causing resignation from this form of cooperation. The paper provides review of problems related to team entrepreneurship in Polish agriculture, presents basic forms of support, discusses the existing advancement of this form of entrepreneurship in Poland and indicates key factors which contribute to the termination of this form of cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the status of organic farms in Poland in the period of 2003-2016 showed an increase in both the number and the acreage of agricultural holdings. As of 2004, high dynamics of growth was observed, which was related to Poland’s accession to the EU and implementation of the CAP and the national Environmental Management Scheme. The aim of this paper is to present growth tendencies in and aid measures for organic farming. The analysis demonstrates the dynamics in the number organic farms and the acreage of organic crops on the basis of the data of the Central Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection (GIJHARS) and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA). The conclusions that can be drawn from the studies demonstrate that the development of organic farming is highly dependent on the amount of EU funds. Financial support coming from the budget of the European Community is effectuated through consecutive RDP editions (2004-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2020). The dynamics of growth in organic farming during the CAP implementation stage indicates that the level of support from the EU is the major determinant of growth in organic farming in Poland. The period of 2003-2016 was characterized by a ten-fold increase in the number of organic farms (from 2.286 to 23.375) and the acreage of organic crops (from 61.2 thousand ha to 537 thousand ha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and usage level of labour resources co-determine the economic potential and strength. The above aspect is particularly important in Polish rural areas, which remain affected by side effects of the economic transformation. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the size and usage levels of labour resources related to Polish rural areas after Poland’s accession to the EU, compared to earlier figures. The subject matter of this study is labour resources in Polish rural areas seen in the context of demographic trends and economic developments over the 2002-2050 period. Polish rural areas have a significant population potential and strong labour resources. Over time, their potential will become increasingly important for the entire country, especially considering the progressing urban depopulation. Later in the study period, the population’s professional situation was steadily improving on a year-to-year basis. This was reflected by the consistent increase of the economic activity rate and employment rate, and by the declining unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas in Poland have faced significant changes recently. The primary sector has been decreasing its contribution to local employment. The aim of the paper is to identify to what extent rural areas in Poland are destinations for incoming commuters. The degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) framework was used as a reference for an urban-rural typology of local units. The National Census of Population and Housing 2011 provided the most recent data on commuting in municipalities of Poland. A statistical analysis with use of the V Cramer coefficient proves a strong relationship between a type of local unit and a number of incoming commuters and a medium relationship between a type of local unit and density of incoming commuters. Generally, urban local units tend to attract the highest number of commuters. Rural areas attract relatively less commuters - the number of rural local units decreases as one considers a higher number of commuters. However, there exist some exceptions of intermediate and rural local units where a significant number of commuters work because of their localization close to big cities or some specific activities located there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to evaluate the durability and sustainability of both socio-economic development and environmental order in rural communes in Eastern Poland. The authors analysed indicators selected on the basis of literature studies, which demonstrated the level of socio-economic development and environmental order for two years: 2007 and 2013. The developed analysis is based on two methods. Firstly, based on the collected indicators, a synthetic indicator was determined using the Hellwig's method, which was employed to classify the area under study by distinguishing three classes representing the levels of socio-economic development and environmental order. Secondly, a relationship was determined between the levels of socio-economic development and environmental order. An interrelation between socio-economic phenomena and environmental order is present in each of the communes under study. However, the method and effects of the implementation of sustainable development vary. The study showed that units characterised by average development in terms of socio-economic aspects and environmental order predominate in rural communes in Eastern Poland. Most communes under study showed the balance between the class of socio-economic development and the class of environmental order. This indicates the durability and sustainability of development, which is a welcome trend from the perspective of the concept of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws attention to the fact that the development of cooperative forms of administration in rural areas fosters job creation, integration of dispersed resources, and an increase in the activity of people with lower incomes. Despite the collapse of the cooperative movement, cooperatives begin to restore their potential; however, in addition to the few traditional cooperatives which have adapted to the market economy conditions, the so-called new cooperatives keep emerging. Particularly important areas of the activity of those cooperatives include: well-being services, renewable energy generation based on the use of substrates from agricultural sources, small-scale production, provision of services to the elderly, and support of tourism. The aim of the study was to indicate the possibilities for the development of rural cooperative movement based on opinions of the cooperative sector representatives. The study was carried out in 2015, using an interviewer questionnaire, on a purposely selected group of 88 managers representing a variety of forms and types of cooperatives operating in rural areas in the north-eastern Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper characterizes the milk market in Poland taking its limitation with quota use into consideration. The task of the milk market regulation was implemented by the Agricultural Market Agency, which specified direct suppliers and laid down the limits of wholesale quotas. It resulted in the identification of the regions in the country with the high concentration of milk production. In 2004 -- 2013, there was a noticeable increase in cows' milk yield and, on the contrary, there was an increasing concentration of production, which enabled the reduction of unit production costs. Although the number of entities purchasing milk did not change (over 300), there emerged the consortia that dominated on the market. The departure from the policy of milk quota in 2015 will increase its supply, which may result in the decrease of milk prices for the producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt at a static analysis of the relationships between the level of socio-economic development of rural communes in the Eastern Poland and the Natura 2000 sites being established within their territories. In spite of public concerns about the emergence of such sites, the authors demonstrate the lack of strong adverse reaction between these variables. At the same time, they indicate that Natura 2000 is not a stimulant of socioeconomic development either. The authors analysed the indicators as selected based on literature studies, which showed the level of development in the social, economic, and environmental aspects, of the year 2013, which in turn allowed the calculation of synthetic quantities on the basis thereof. This allowed the classification of 494 rural communes in one of the poorest regions of the European Union i.e. the Eastern Poland. On that basis, the authors investigated the relationship between the values obtained and the proportion of the area of Natura 2000 sites in the communes concerned. The study results indicated huge discrepancies in particular provinces of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents selected issues related to the processes of concentration of commercial milk production in Poland. The analysis excludes farms that sell directly to individuals, due to their marginal share in total commercial production (less than 1%). Changes in milk production in Poland as a whole and in individual regions have been analyzed dynamically in terms of quantities delivered, average quantity delivered per farm and number of suppliers. Based on the Gini coefficient, surveys released a steady process of concentrating milk production in certain Polish regions. The research has also shown notable changes in the structure of wholesale deliveries of milk and the structure of suppliers. Research let to observe the decided decrease in importance of producers selling less than 50, 000 kg of milk per year in comparison with those selling more than 200, 000 kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of public goods connected with agriculture and environment gains more and more attention of societies. It is taken into consideration by the environmental, rural and agricultural policies as well. The aim of the paper is to examine the dimensions and the particular features of the provision of the public goods by agriculture and to demonstrate the involvement of the Polish agriculture in supply of such goods. The analyses showed that the concept of public goods in agriculture evolved from externality oriented approach to very board holistic approach. The provision of public goods is strongly supported as a part of the Common Agricultural Policy. The interest of the Polish farmers in provision of public goods is quite high. About 50% of famers got subsidies due to different measures connected with this activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to present economic performance of farms engaged in sheep production. The research was conducted at 11 farms in the Province of Lublin in 2012. The detailed aim of this study was to compare the productivity per 1 ha of AL and per PLN 1 direct costs on farms. Area of the farm did not affect the generated incomes. The performed analyses confirm close relationship between the economic performance, the value of the farm buildings and the value of machinery and equipment. The farm income was negative in two farms with a loss of PLN 164 and PLN 306 per 1 ha of AL; whereas, the top farm generated PLN 3717 income per 1 ha of AL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]