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This paper presents changes in the structure of the national economy in Poland, mainly in the post-war period, manifested through a dramatic decline in the share of agricul- ture in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment and a decrease in household food expenses. However, this does not represent a decline in the importance of agriculture, which is the first link in the food economy. As a result of tech- nical and biological progress, the level of intensity of agricul- tural production and land productivity increased, which made it possible to satisfy food needs. Given that, attention started to be paid to other agricultural functions related to the protec- tion of the environment, including landscape. The economic objectives of farmers striving to further increase the level of production intensity and farm area (market and production scale) started competing with environmental protection ob- jectives. The purpose of this paper is to present agricultural production systems that differ in the degree of accounting for measures related to environmental protection. To this end, the following farming systems were evaluated: conventional, or- ganic, integrated and precision farming systems, taking into account the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy. The systems assume a holistic approach to the organization of farms and the commitment to circular economy. These expec- tations are met to the greatest extent by the organic farming system. However, this system will not dominate due to exist- ing limitations (in knowledge and markets). It is the integrated farming system that should prevail, as it makes it possible to the greatest extent to meet the farmers’ economic and social objectives while addressing the environmental protection ob- jectives. Also, the fulfillment of environmental objectives by farmers gives legitimacy to supporting their activities from the state budget.

The expansion of the European Union during the 1980s with the Mediterranean region countries was a major challenge both for the new Member States and for the Community as a whole. The new Member States, i.e. Greece, Spain and Portugal, were poorly developed in economic terms, with a high proportion of the agricultural sector in overall production and employment structure. Still, the concerns about the future turned out to be unfounded, and the impulse of the accession process and the necessity to compete on the common market brought certain advantages both to existing and to new Member States, thus enforcing certain changes in the structure of production and employment in the economies discussed in this paper. Today, the Mediterranean region states, irrespective of the success achieved in the past years, are again facing the need to resolve certain important economic problems related to the global fi nancial crisis. This paper discusses one of the aspects that strongly contributes to the present diffi cult socioeconomic situation of the contemplated region, i.e. evolution of the sectoral structure of employment and GDP during the European Union membership, with special consideration of the situation in agriculture.

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the farmers’ opinion on the functioning of their dedicated social insurance system. Particular attention was also paid to the development of different forms of social insurance and to the functioning of the Farmers’ Social Insurance Fund (Polish acronym: KRUS). The analysis was based on a literature review and a survey conducted with 114 farmers registered in KRUS offices located in Działdowo, Iława and Ostróda, with assistance from the Olsztyn Regional Branch. The data collected enables an objective assessment of the entire social insurance system and reflects the farmers’ views on the system and its reforms. The research shows that the accident insurance, health insurance and maternity insurance schemes work very well (41%) or well (34%) according to the farmers concerned. The respondents also expressed their satisfaction with activities undertaken by KRUS, especially in the social field (61%).

This paper presents the impact of changes in prices of agricultural products on changes in retail prices of agrifood products. The basis for the study was data on changes in prices of milk, wheat, pork and poultry and derived products in Poland in 2007–2016. A relationship was discovered between the variables, on one side, and lags between the examined time series, on the other. The cross-spectral analysis was used to study the periodicity of changes and lags between time series.

The main purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of agriculture and food industry in creating and allocating the supply of agri-food products in European Union countries. The years covered by the analysis were 1995 and 2010. As demonstrated, there are differences in the contribution of imports to the supply of agricultural products among EU countries. Low shares of imports are particularly characteristic of the new member states, which is indicative of weaker connections with the European and global agribusinesses in comparison with EU-15 countries. On the other hand, the proportion between volumes of agri-food products allocated to intermediate and final demand confirm that the agricultural sector is primarily a supplier of raw materials in most EU countries. In turn, the main role of the food industry is to satisfy the final demand and provide the population with food products.

Regional diversification in the Polish agriculture is a result of climatic and social conditions, as well as historical developments. The aim of this paper is the assessment of the role that the CAP plays in the transformation of Polish agriculture is based on a comparative analysis of data on agriculture and the use of support by individual regions since the Polish EU accession until 2013. The results indicate the widening gaps in the development of agriculture in Polish regions. Regions with small farms receive less support for improving agricultural competitiveness. It is necessary to take account of these differences and design policy measures better targeted at individual needs of each of the regions. It seems that CAP does not shrink regional diversity of the Polish agriculture. However, it appears that it is not a key factor leading to an increase in this diversity, but an additional factor alongside with current conditions for conducting different types of agricultural activity.

The paper deals with the changes in the agriculture of the Podlaskie voivodeship between 2002-2010. During the period of time chosen for the analysis the number of agricultural holdings decreased by 13.4%, while the average area of arable land in the agricultural holdings increased to 10.29 ha (in the holdings above 1 ha – 14.77 ha). 86.6% of the holdings were involved only in agricultural activity, and 2.4% in activity other than agricultural activity, but directly linked with the agricultural holding. Almost a half of the holdings (46.7%) stated that agricultural activity was their main source of income. There were 2033 ecological holdings functioning in 2010. The holdings became better equipped in terms of machines and agricultural devices. There were also positive changes in farmers’ education level and vocational preparation.

The aim of this paper is to identify directions and dynamics of changes in the role of agriculture in the national economy of EU countries. The time frame of the analysis based on Eurostat data covers the years of 2000–2015. The study fits within the framework of comparative economics. As it results from the presented analyses, changes are found in the proportions between agriculture and the other sectors of the economy. An increase in the level of economic development is accompanied by a decrease in the share of the agricultural sector in the generation of GDP and the labour market. At the same time, primarily as a result in the reduction of the number of persons employed, an increase was recorded in workforce productivity in agriculture. This is evident especially in many of the countries accessing the European Union in 2004 and in the later period. Despite positive changes, agriculture in those countries is still playing a significant role in the links with economy, manifested particularly in its share in the employment rate and owned productive fixed assets.

The aim of this paper is to present the analysis of spatial diversifi cation in the labour input in agriculture on the basis of these selected indicators: annual work unit (AWU) per 100 ha agricultural acreage; number of people per AWU; and comparison of labour input to EU-15 standards (LI-EU). Agricultural holdings have been categorised by size into three groups: 0–10 ha (small), 10–20 ha (average), and over 20 ha (large). Labour resources were subject to a comparative study of the density rates of AWUs per 100 ha agricultural acreage in Poland and the EU (EU-15). The analysis covered all of Poland with consideration of the administrative division into sixteen voivodeships (tabular analysis) and 314 poviats (townships and country districts together, including regional offi ces of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR); cartographic analysis). The results of the Agricultural Census of 2010 were used in the study. It demonstrated a signifi cant spatial diversifi cation in labour input in agriculture in general and in each holding size group. Predominantly, the diff erences are related to historical and political factors. The analysis corroborated agrarian overpopulation in south-east Poland.

The paper represents an attempt at assessment of the direct subsidies influence on changes at farms. The questionnaire-based surveys covered 118 farmers from Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship (the districts of Bartoszyce, Ełk and Mrągowo). The financial aid in the form of direct subsidies improved the financial standing of farms. The majority of the respondents declared that direct subsidies contributed to a slight improvement of the financial standing (48%). Some farmers surveyed (36%) have not noticed any change concerning improvement of their financial standing while the smallest percentage of the respondents declared that as a consequence of receiving direct subsidies their financial standing improved significantly (16%); the highest share of respondents indicating that was recorded in Bartoszyce district representing 25% of the respondents from that district. In small size farms the direct subsidies were allocated mainly to financing the current expenditures. In case of farms up to 5 ha that was over 80%. In case of verification of the allocation of the direct subsidies for development of the farm, purchase of land or means of production the following correlation was visible: the larger the area of the farm the larger the allocation of direct subsidies to investments.

The paper represents an attempt at assessment of the direct subsidies influence on changes at farms. The questionnaire-based surveys covered 118 farmers from Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship (the districts of Bartoszyce, Ełk and Mrągowo). The financial aid in the form of direct subsidies improved the financial standing of farms. The majority of the respondents declared that direct subsidies contributed to a slight improvement of the financial standing (48%). Some farmers surveyed (36%) have not noticed any change concerning improvement of their financial standing while the smallest percentage of the respondents declared that as a consequence of receiving direct subsidies their financial standing improved significantly (16%); the highest share of respondents indicating that was recorded in Bartoszyce district representing 25% of the respondents from that district. In small size farms the direct subsidies were allocated mainly to financing the current expenditures. In case of farms up to 5 ha that was over 80%. In case of verification of the allocation of the direct subsidies for development of the farm, purchase of land or means of production the following correlation was visible: the larger the area of the farm the larger the allocation of direct subsidies to investments.

The main aspect of the paper is evaluation of direct payments which were introduced in the European Union Member States in 1992. The aim of direct payments was to compensate of agricultural income fall and achieve competition in European agricultural market. In Polish conditions there was introduced single area payment system (SAPS) which was not connected to quantity of production. Ruling in EU-15 single payment scheme (SPS) based on historical model let for achieving higher area payments. In 2004 the level of support was 55% in order to be increased to 100% in 6 years to the level estimated in the Accession Treaty in Athens in 2003. It remains on lower level than in EU-15 member States. In 2004-2010 farmers used to submit about 1.4 mln declarations every year, what was 82.3% of all farms with area exceeding 1 ha. And the rate of financial support was increased from 1.5 bln to 2.5 bln euro. In perspective of rural policy vision after 2013 is alignment of direct payments NUE-10 with the ones which are accepted in EU-15 Member States.

The aim of the paper was to assess the scale of changes on the Polish labour market in 2003-2007 according to voivodeships, considering employment in Polish agriculture. Significant betterment of the situation on the labour market was observed, as well as slight decline in employment rate in agriculture. It was probably caused by higher labour absorption resulted from the economic growth. These changes were observed in all voivodeships but differences in indexes characterised the labour market between voivode-ships faced restructuring results and more developed ones fell down markedly.