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The aim of the research is to analyze English language scientific articles that have been published in the scientific journal entitled Annals PAAAE from 2009 to 2018 by using tools of text mining and text analysis, measuring how the frequency of key terms has changed, and to conclude the probable change of research focus of authors based on it. The subjects of the research are 393 English language articles that have been issued in the volumes of Annals PAAAE (Polish title is Roczniki Naukowe SERiA) from 2009 to 2018 (from Vol. 11 to Vol. 20), which are ready to download in pdf format on the website of the publishing house. Text mining and text analysis were conducted using own self-adapted routines of samples written in the R language programme. At the hierarchic cluster analysis, the Ward D method was used, and the association of frequency of terms was measured using Pearson’s correlation. It was found that the weight of research concerning the context of the product-production-market has increased, but there was low usage of the term “competitiveness”. What was of key significance was that in the case of clustering articles by author nationality, the role of the origin of the author has decreased as a determinant factor, which could suggest the uniformity of terminology as well as similarity of research topics and the researcher’s interests, which can initialize cooperation and common research. The growth of the number of articles elaborated on by international teams is also a projection of this tendency.

There is increasing relevance and interest in the concept of well-being in economics with economists and policy makers viewing it as very critical in gauging the pulse of an economy. It is seen as a key component in the evaluation of the performance and progress of an economy in addition to traditional economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Income per capita. This paper, based on a detailed review of literature aims to present the contributory factors of subjective perception of well-being among Nigeria’s rural inhabitants. It focuses on papers which examine the concept of well-being from renowned academic databases like Elsevier and ScienceDirect. This review provides a background to the complexities and variations of the concept of well-being as well as gaining an in-depth understanding of existing research and opinions on the subject matter. The conclusions from the research show that subjective well-being is multi-dimensional and understanding its multi-dimensional nature can help in shaping economic policies. With respect to rural Nigeria, housing, infrastructure, community engagements and financial security are highly contributory to the subjective perception of an individual’s well-being. With a holistic grasp of these factors, local government authorities may device means to create an environment of prosperity and fulfillment in order for the inhabitants to thrive and contribute to the economic development of their communities.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the energy intensity of production in the Polish agri-food (agribusiness) sector, split into agriculture, food industry and supply subsectors, in the light of input-output tables. The study relies on input-output tables and physical energy flow accounts. Energy plays a key role in today’s society as it affects economic growth and the standards of living, while also being at the core of international conflicts, mainly caused by its limited resources. Compared to other sectors, agribusiness demonstrates particularly high levels of energy consumption. Agriculture, which is part of it, has a large share in the consumption of fuels derived from crude oil. This paper presents the consumption of energy in each of the four aggregates of agribusiness, as well as their GDP (in PPS) and energy consumption mix (split into 6groups of energy carriers). The authors found that between2014 and2019, energy consumption in the agribusiness industry increased by ca.9% and was accompanied by ca.8% growth in GDP. The sector’s energy intensity was half more than the average level for the economy as a whole, and remained at ca.5.6TJ per EUR1million of GDP in PPS. Only the food industry was at a level of energy efficiency similar to that of the economy as a whole, whereas the agricultural supply subsector was the only one to demonstrate lower levels. Both the economy as a whole and the agribusiness sector clearly tend to reduce the share of coal and related products in the energy mix.

This paper addresses the measures taken to implement progress in agriculture, with particular emphasis on the role played by Post-Registration Variety Testing (PRVT). Special attention was paid to assessing the structure of financing streams for PRVT in Poland, how they evolve over time and how they differ between locations. The Reports on the Implementation of the Post-Registration Variety Testing (PRVT) Program in2010-2021 were used as source materials. Studies were carried out using 2010 constant prices. This paper found an increase in the number of PRVT research projects and experiments over the study period, which contributed to promoting biological progress, although the uses of PRVT findings differed between regions. Focus was also placed on the restructuring of financing for post-registration testing, with two leading streams being identified, namely the state budget and funds delivered by third parties, including private operators. The authors emphasized the importance of earmarked subsidies allocated to PRVT in the state budget, and the role they play in stimulating the transfer of knowledge and in promoting advancements and preserving biodiversity in Polish agriculture. The conclusion also points out the importance of PODs also in terms of the suitability of varieties for production in particular regions and under given technological conditions, which is in line with, among other things, the goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, i.e. SDG 12 (ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns) and SDG 15 (protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably managing forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss).

The goal of this paper is to suggest a list of indicators of farm sensitivity to the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic brought rapid changes for many economies, organisations, and individuals. Top-down restrictions in travel, obligatory infection tests, masks, and disinfection, closing of many service points combined with changes in consumer behaviour were undoubtedly a shock to many forms of business. Second-round consequences, such as changes in demand for certain products, truncated logistic chains, currency and price changes affected, among others, the agrifood sector. The paper is of methodical character. The paper is based on a short literature review concerning the vulnerability and sensitivity analysis for various organisation types (countries, regions, households) on external conditions (such as weather and economic conditions). Basing on the COVID-19 pandemic transmission channels to food and agriculture, the author suggests a set of indicators that can be used to analyse farm sensitivity to the pandemic. These measures, after necessary modifications, can be used also for measuring the impact of other exogenous shocks on farms.

The aim of the work is to assess selected environmental and organizational aspects, as well as the level of changes occurring in farms, and therefore in agriculture in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. The survey-based research was carried out in 2023. The paper presents state of advancement of selected aspects of the deagrarianisation and deanimalisation processes in the area of 44 communes in the Lesser Poland and Silesian voivodeships. When dividing into two so-called macro-categories, as groups B-C (retarding farms) and C-D (degressive farms), the results indicate predominance of entities from the latter group (65%). This confirms the thesis that in research area there are problems of agrarian and structural changes, which also affect the environment. Especially crucial for the research are issues related to the advancement of deanimisation process, which is an abandonment of animal husbandry. It has a direct influence on development and use of production potential of permanent grasslands and also diversity of crops. The share of farms keeping cattle in all analyzed communes is only approximately 3-7%. It can therefore be concluded that this phenomenon is highly advanced in the majority of farms.

The aim of the present paper is to show the results of the studies of food losses, as conducted in Poland in 2019, and to estimate the amount of food waste at a level of primary (agricultural) production in Poland during the years 2017-2018. Also, the differences between the food losses and food waste, based upon current definitions and legal regulations obligatory in Poland and the European Union, were indicated. The studies of food losses in primary production were carried out in the whole of Poland on a representative sample of 1,378 respondents from six sectors of the economy, with the utilization of a survey-questionnaire, using the PAPI (Paper& Pen Personal Interview) method. The mass of food waste was estimated on the grounds of the results of food losses and wastage, considering methods of management, excluding the destination for consumption purposes or animal feeds. From the conducted studies, it follows that the directions of management of food losses in primary (agricultural) production are different and are greatly dependent on the sector, i.e., the type of managed raw material, the causes of the resulting losses and the stage of production where the mentioned losses are generated. Food losses in agricultural production constitute 15% of total food losses in Poland, i.e., 749.48 thousand tonnes annually, whereas food waste is estimated at a level of 507.94 thousand tonnes per year. The appropriate management of losses in accordance with the hierarchy of proceeding with waste reduces the quantity of waste, decreasing, in effect, its negative impact on the environment.

The aim of the paper is to outline the problem areas of fertilizer management in Poland, taking the need to achieve European Green Deal (EGD) objectives into account. Fertilizer management is one of the key elements of future agricultural policy, to which the European Green Deal refers, and is closer to the Farm to Fork strategy. The emphasis on the need to promote rational fertilizer management in European documents stemmed from the pressures of this economic activity on the natural environment. The paper focuses on the main determinants of fertilizer management, including the costs and quantities of mineral fertilizers used and the results of the NPK fertilizer balance, using the gross balance and indicator method. The study used Statistics Poland data 2007 and 2016 from the Farm Structure Survey and agricultural accountancy FADN 2014-2019. It was found that, at the level of the agricultural sector, the results of fertilizer balances do not create surpluses and problematic issues concern a significant share of farms with an understated balance of main NPK macroelements. The expected reduction in the level of fertilization under the EGD may result in a reduction in production and economic performance from a farm and negatively affect the state of the natural environment. The fertilizer balance and nutrient efficiency level should be used as measurable indicators for setting reduction targets.

The research problem addressed in this paper includes the progress of suburbanization in selected Polish metropolises. The following core question was formulated: when did today’s suburbanization processes start, and what are the migration trends and targets of the population living at the dividing line between urban and suburban limits in Polish metropolises. Defined as such, the study field enabled formulating the objective of this research, which is to present the formation of new suburbanization processes in the largest metropolises in Poland. Considering the research problem and the defined objective, the authors analyzed the differences in demographic changes across the territory, and put these findings in the context of suburbanization and its stages. This allowed to determine the dynamics and targets of migration in the metropolises surveyed. Also, the changes were compared between the units covered, providing a basis for further considerations on suburbanization and for concluding whether these processes are cyclical in nature. The analyses relied on descriptive statistics methods and on graphical data presentation methods. The selected metropolises were delimited using QGIS Desktop 2.4.0 and adequate geometry (centroid) and geoprocessing (buffer) tools. This paper relies on source data in the form of shapefile vector layers presenting the boundaries of the administrative units considered (http://www.gugik.gov.pl/pzgik). Source materials included public statistical data and program documents developed at regional and sub-regional level. The study period is 1995-2018. In geographic terms, the study focuses on the selected metropolises of Poznań, Warsaw, Łódź, Wrocław, Krakow, Gdansk and Szczecin.

The aim of this paper is to examine and understand the impact of various green economy indicators on economic growth in Poland from 2010 to 2021. The study focused on a select number of indicators, including the final energy intensity of the economy, expenditures on environmental fixed assets in relation to gross domestic product (GDP), the share of renewable electricity in gross final electricity consumption, primary energy intensity of GDP, and the percentage of urban green areas. The relationship between green economy indicators and economic growth, expressed as gross domestic product per capita, was examined using regression analysis, time series analysis and correlation analysis. Data for the analysis were taken from the Central Statistical Office. Time trend analysis showed that the economy’s final energy intensity and the share of renewable energy improved steadily over the period under review, with a positive impact on GDP per capita. Correlation analysis demonstrated a robust inverse correlation between energy intensity and GDP per capita, along with a positive association between the share of renewable energy and economic growth. In linear and multiple regressions, the economy’s final energy intensity, expenditures on environmental fixed assets, and the share of renewable energy exhibited a significant impact on GDP per capita. The study’s conclusions underscore the necessity of sustained and intensified efforts towards a green economy in Poland, which is pivotal for ensuring long-term economic growth and sustainable development.

As family farms are the dominant form of agricultural activity in Europe, their economic viability is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas. The aim of this research is to review the latest publications on the economic viability of family farms in Europe. Based on a systematic literature review of studies related to European agriculture published in 2010-2020, this paper presents various concepts of family farm economic viability and assesses the methodologies used. The paper also presents the results of selected empirical research from the last 10 years on family farm economic viability in Europe, broken down into international and national comparisons. Results suggest that the most common approach to measuring economic viability is to use the opportunity cost concept of own factors of production. An important observation is also that, although most studies are based on the FADN database, the results of the analyses are sensitive to the selection of the threshold wage and own capital costs. What contemporary literature lacks is a long-term comparative analysis for all EU countries, as well as studies of drivers of family farm economic viability.

The aim of the paper is to identify changes in nitrogen management in individual agriculture and result assessment in the context of sustainable development. The paper showed the essential elements of nitrogen balancing on agricultural area. Research was conducted at a national as well as voivodship level, making it possible to determine the scale of diversity of regional nitrogen management in individual agriculture and verify the regional divergence process in this scope. Analysis was based on data collected during the Farm Structure Survey in 2007 and 2016 prepared by the Statistical Office in Olsztyn, for individual farms with at least 1 ha of UAA in GAEC. The period of research captured the trend of changes in nitrogen management on farms over a 10 year-period. Nitrogen gross balance was calculated on the basis of OECD and EUROSTAT methodology. The results indicated the need to improve nitrogen management to optimize it in relation to crop nutritional needs and local soil conditions. Not only environmental considerations but, above all, economic ones, are an important prerequisite for increasing farmer interest in such activities. Regional diversification of nitrogen economy is progressing, indicating an ongoing divergence (polarization) process. This process is the result of a number of different factors, including organizational and environmental ones.

The main purpose of this paper was to identify the factors affecting the selection of raw materials used by feed operators in feed production. An attempt was also made to indicate the barriers to increasing the use of native protein plants by feed operators in feed production. Today, many EU countries (including Poland) primarily rely on vegetable protein derived from genetically modified soya bean meal (mainly imported from South America and the U.S.) in addressing their needs for protein raw material used in animal feed. For many years now, Poland has taken steps to increase the production and use of native protein raw material to partially replace soya bean meal imports. The use of mixes of diverse domestic protein sources derived from grain legumes (peas, field beans, lupine) can provide an advantageous alternative to compound feeding stuff based on imported post-extraction soya bean meal. To meet the objective defined above, this paper relied on the results of a 2018survey conducted with a sample of 29feed operators located across the country. More than half (55%) of the enterprises surveyed did not use legumes in feed production; the use of legumes was above 10% in only 3% of respondents. When asked about the key factors affecting the selection of raw materials used in production processes, the respondents declared to be interested in buying large batches of homogeneous raw materials that meet specific quality parameters (33% replied “rather yes” and 67% replied “definitely yes”). The protein content of plant seeds used in feed production was identified as another aspect of extreme importance (55% replied “rather yes” and 24% replied “definitely yes”).

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe institutional barriers to the development of organic farming in Poland. As a secondary objective, this paper seeks feedback from organic farmers on measures taken by the institutional environment to promote the development of organic farming. This paper is based on literature reviews and selected findings from empirical research carried out in2019 with262 organic farms. The sample used in this study was representative of the general population of certified organic farms. The survey was a CAWI. The study found that organic farming faces many barriers, with frequent amendments to regulations being of key importance. This destabilizes and adds uncertainty to the functioning of organic farms. Another significant barrier are the high standards of organic production and low levels of financial and non-financial support. To a certain extent, these barriers result from the inefficiency of institutions surrounding organic farming. As a consequence, they are considered to poorly contribute to organic farming development.

EU regional policy funding was said to be a significant source of co-financing renewable energy investments in Poland, however, what has not yet been investigated thus far is the impact of such financing in rural areas of the Mazovian Voivodship, the biggest in the country. Thus, the aim of the paper is to explore the main outcomes of using this funding for RE investments in rural areas of the Mazovian Voivodship and look into the relations between these outcomes and important factors determining them. The study is based on qualitative and quantitative data from the SIMIK 2007-2013 data base of the Ministry of Development, Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland, data from 3 classifications of communes and a questionnaire survey. Findings prove that RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship differ from investments in other rural areas of Poland as they only used wind and solar RE, were carried out only by local self-governments and enterprises, and obtained EU co-funding only from regional operational programmes. The similarities between RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship in other rural areas of the country indicate an insufficient adjustment of eligible costs to total costs and a lower than available share of EU funding in eligible costs, both significantly increasing the share of non-EU funding necessary to carry out projects. The shortage of funding was indicated by local authorities and the respondents of the survey as the main obstacle in supporting local development and was the reason for taking other than RE investment development priorities. The paper concludes with recommendations on an increase of RE investments in the rural Mazovian Voivodship.

The paper aims to present the determinants of tourism development in the context of the challenges of today’s economy, i.e. the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the need for the tourism sector to prepare for climate change and the digital transformation of the economy. The study is scoping. To achieve the research objective, a study of domestic and foreign literature, induction, deduction, generalisation and synthesis, and research results of other authors were used. The research used studies from UNWTO, World Travel & Tourism Council, Statista, Travel Trends 2023 (Simon-Kuchner), a European Commission report and other author’ research. The research showed that in the third decade of the 21st century, the tourism sector is affected by health (COVID-19 pandemic), military and geopolitical threats, inflation, climate change and digital technologies. These phenomena influence the behaviour and attitudes of tourists worldwide and shape the opportunities for developing the tourism sector in each country at the macro-, meso- and micro levels. The challenges identified have created, and some will continue to create, crisis risks in tourism. It calls for building a more robust, more sustainable and resilient tourism economy for the future. It will require appropriate economic, climate, and energy policies from governments in many countries.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the levels of potential hidden unemployment in Polish agriculture in2005, 2015 and 2018. Excessive employment in agriculture (understood as hidden unemployment) is one of the key outstanding problems in the process of modernizing Polish rural areas. This paper uses a method for estimating these processes based on the results of a simulation based on the assumption that agriculture has a 5% share inthe total working population employed in the national economy. The study relied on EUROSTAT and Central Statistical Office data and on relevant literature. The level of agricultural employment and the amount of surplus workforce differ across voivodships and suggest that structural factors continue to have a strong impact. The distance to the 5% level assumed in the simulation has been decreasing in subsequent years. Hence, achieving this goal seems more and more realistic.

The purpose of this paper was to compare the investment amounts and efficiency of productive input between Polish and Romanian dairy farms depending on whether they access funds under the second pillar of EU’s CAP. The study covered the particularities of farms who access investment funds under the 2ndpillar of EU’s CAP, which allowed to identify the differences between beneficiaries and the control group (i.e. non-beneficiary farms). This paper relies on unpublished 2004–2015 microdata at a farm level, as retrieved from the FADN of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI-C.3; data source: EU-FADN – DG AGRI). The analysis period starts from the moment the two countries joined the EU and launched the FADN system (which is2004 for Poland and2007 for Romania) and ends in2015. The research task defined for Polish and Romanian dairy farms was performed with the use of Propensity Score Matching, a counterfactual method. The calculations were carried out using STATA. As shown by the analysis, in Poland, no considerable differences existed between dairy farms run by the beneficiaries of EU investment funds and the control group. Conversely, in Romania, investment aid was accessed by farms demonstrating a more efficient use of productive input.

The objective of the paper is identifying the main organic food sales channels from processing companies and attempting to determine their influence on organic food processing. Recently, the dynamic development of organic farming and its market has been observed. Nevertheless, the elements of this market show a number of weaknesses. One of the weakest links of the studied market is the processing of organic food, which bears a high transaction cost resulting from, among others, low distribution development. The paper presents the results of an inquiry research carried out in the first half of 2019 on 55 organic food processors. Conducted research shows that the production structure of the examined companies, mainly focused on fruit, vegetable and cereal products, is only partly adjusted to consumer expectations, who increasingly prefer organic dairy and meat. The main distribution channel is sales to small retail outlets. Wholesale trade came second, although still too underdeveloped, to assure effective products flow from processors to retail. More than half of the studied processors sell their products abroad, mainly to EU countries, North America and Asia. However, it is low-processed products, which are mostly exported. This is an unfavourable phenomenon from a value-added generating perspective.

The aim of the paper is to identify changes in the food consumption of urban and rural households in Poland when it comes to sustainable consumption as well as evaluate if such changes are becoming more or less sustainable. Sustainable consumption is an element of sustainable development, which responds to the basic needs of people while not jeopardizing the needs of future generations. More sustainable food consumption is perceived to be a reduction of overconsumption, a decrease in the consumption of highly processed food and a shift in diet based less on animals and more on plants. The paper is mainly based on data from the Polish Central Statistical Office concerning meat, fruit and vegetable consumption. Some data about food waste were also used. The research shows that the food consumption pattern in rural households is less sustainable than in urban ones. Households living in rural areas consume more meat and less fruit and vegetables than urban ones. There is some evidence that the food consumption pattern in Poland is shifting towards a less sustainable one.

The purpose of the paper is to identify the changes and disparities in the income of rural municipalities of the Wielkopolskie Voivodship. As the main source materials, this paper relied on the Local Data Bank of the Central Statistical Office and on Municipal Budget Reports (RB-27s) of the Ministry of Finance. The analysis period was 2010-2017. The variable of focus in this study is total income and its components. The relationships between income categories were assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Also, this paper used basic measures of descriptive statistics and the decile ratio. The analysis of variance (the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA on ranks) was carried out to verify the statistical significance of results, taking into account the functional type of municipalities (determined using the cluster analysis). The functional type was found to have an effect on income disparities in the group of municipalities surveyed. Also, the income gap between municipalities tended to narrow. The income potential of rural municipalities of the Wielkopolskie Voivodship rose by54% in 2010-2017. This is the consequence of a consistent increase in own income and considerable growth in external income related to the introduction of the Family+ programme. Municipalities are improving their wealth because they derive more and more funds from their share in personal income tax while accessing smaller amounts from sources typical of rural local governments, such as agricultural and forestry taxes. This is related to progressing suburbanization processes which are currently taking place in Poland.

Work is an important component of individual life. To disabled people, it is of particular importance because in addition to helping them address their material needs, it prevents social exclusion and is part of integration and rehabilitation processes. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the labor market situation of the working-age disabled population. This paper also includes a comparative analysis between the situation of disabled and able-bodied persons to explore the significant differences in economic activity, employment and unemployment ratios. The data analysis suggests that the labor market situation of working-age disabled people was much more difficult than that of able-bodied persons. In 2011-2018, the average activity rate for disabled people was 27%, i.e. 51 percentage points below the corresponding ratio for able-bodied people. In turn, the average unemployment rate for persons with impairments was 13.3%, compared to 7.7% for people without impairments. The average employment rate for disabled and able-bodied persons was 23% and 72%, respectively. The disadvantages faced by disabled people are driven by many factors, including socio-demographic aspects. Legal regulations as well as attitudes of employers, collaborators, the society and the disabled people also play a considerable role.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the progress made in research on demand factors of development of the Polish organic food market in 2004-2018, to present the strengths and weaknesses of relevant research and identify cognitive gaps in this respect. The review is restricted to Polish literature because of the particularities of the domestic organic food market which reflect its immaturity. The analysis focused on the last fifteen years (2004–2018). The papers were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, Google Scholar and BazEkon, basing on four keywords: demand for organic food; purchasing behavior of organic food consumers; availability of organic food; and organic food prices. The article presents a review of research from 107 publications. The review of research findings suggests that progress has been made in the identification of key demand factors of development of the organic food market. Some development barriers (high prices, limited availability of the product range) were not removed in the study period. The weakness of the relevant research is the insufficient use of complex statistical methods.

This paper is an analysis of the salary levels in a group of people who graduated, in 2014, from Polish higher-education institutions with agricultural degrees, i.e. degrees in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, veterinary science, zootechnics and fishery. This analysis is based on data from reports published as part of the Polish National System for Monitoring the Situation of Polish University Graduates. In a group of 1,953 graduates with agricultural degrees, the average gross salary in the fourth year after graduation amounted to PLN 3,416.85. This shows that the salary paid to such graduates after four years of work was lower than the average salary in Poland for all working year-2014 graduates with second-cycle degrees (PLN 3,765.30) and long-cycle master-level degrees (PLN 4,209.21). Moreover, the data shows that the highest average pay in the fourth year after graduation is earned by graduates with forestry degrees. It is worth noting that the results of the study are relative in nature. If other degrees, such as biotechnology, food technology or human nutrition, were included in the analysis, the classification would probably be different. This paper is by no means an exhaustive explanation of the topic and, given the limitations mentioned above, should be regarded as a contribution to further analyses.

As farmers are exposed to risk and uncertainty, they are unable to make optimal choices. The main purpose of this paper was to present how farmers perceive risk in agriculture.To meet the objective defined above, this paper relied on the results of a 2018 survey conducted with a sample of 137 legume farms across the country. The information was analyzed and described with the use of descriptive statistics methods. Also, the correlation between selected characteristics was assessed with the Pearson’s contingency coefficient (C) based on the chi-square test of independence. Most interviewees (71%) perceive the effects of risk as the possible emergence of losses or profits, while 29% associate risks with losses only. None of the interviewees declared the perception of risks purely as an opportunity to reap benefits. The respondents believe that agricultural businesses should be most wary of production risk (an average rating of 11.6) and market risk (8.1 to 9.0).

The research goal of this paper is to identify the possibility to transform the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) in agribusiness. In the paper, both concepts are compared and the ways of their application are exemplified. A literature review and summative content analysis have been used to study CSR reports of four leading food companies in Poland. The study enabled the exemplification of good practices of shared value creation in the analysed agribusiness entities which publish information on their social impact. It concludes that the implementation of a new CSV approach is an important challenge for agribusiness companies. There are many areas where economic value can be augmented by new approach applications in agribusiness. Unfocused philanthropy, in the form of charitable donations and volunteering, should be replaced by the direct activity of companies aimed at solving social and environmental problems of agribusiness. Companies should make more effort towards shared value creation focused on reconceiving products and markets, redefining productivity in the value chain and building supportive agribusiness clusters. Some good practices presented in this study already are implemented. It contributes to identifying and gaining insight into the process of superseding CSR by the CSV approach in agribusiness, in Poland. This paper brings the discussion about social responsibility in agribusiness to a new level.

The purpose of this paper was to show the economic rationale behind growing legume plants in crop rotation. To pursue that objective, this paper presents a modified profitability accounting method for agricultural production which takes biological benefits into consideration. The following sequence of crop rotation was used in this study: forage pea – winter rape – winter wheat. An assumption was made that, from an economic point of view, the after-effect of legume crops on soil and yields of subsequent crops is an important factor which, however, is disregarded in calculations. Research suggests that legume crop growing brings measurable benefits in following years. As regards forage pea, rape and wheat, biological benefits represented 2%, 19% and 12% of total income, respectively, in the study period. Feedback from respondents suggests that 25% of the interviewees do not reduce nitrogen fertilization input in the years after growing legume crops. In turn, as much as 83% of farmers surveyed do not reduce their phosphorus and potassium fertilization rates for subsequent crops. However, agricultural producers usually fail to take account of additional biological benefits brought about by legumes when assessing their economic competitiveness against cereals and rape.

The goal of this study is to create a theoretical model for the assessment of the least resource-intensive storage methods for the buffer stocks. The subject of the study was the available literature on food waste and food preservation methods. Food waste is often mentioned in the context of food security. Meanwhile, research on food waste mainly focuses on ex-post management of food waste rather than reducing food waste in the future. Thus, research on food waste tends towards energy security rather than food security. The bibliometric analysis shows that most of the research conducted focuses on the proper functioning of the supply chain and secondarily on economic food security. Therefore, the paper chooses to link the relevant elements of the analysis of food stock research to possible ways of processing food for long-term storage, based on the literature review. This is a preliminary analysis carried out using the expert method. This may allow some food to be processed into long-term food reserves, whose role is to stabilize food prices and make efficient use of resources in the value chain. To make proper use of such food, its processing and storage must be economically viable. According to this preliminary study, vacuum sealing may be the most efficient of the studied long-term storage methods, although it is not as durable as other methods.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the commitment of Polish enterprises to implementing CSR activities during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also examined was the impact of the pandemic on labor efficiency, economic performance, interpersonal relations, corporate culture, social, environmental and economic responsibility, and on the implementation of new management systems. The study focused on Polish undertakings of different size, grouped into small, medium, large and extremely large enterprises. The research was based on the results of an online survey carried out in2022-2023 with a sample of 100enterprises from all over Poland. The author found that enterprises which had previously engaged in socially responsible actions were better prepared and more committed to fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. Most respondents confirmed that additional measures were taken to protect both internal and external stakeholders. The results of this study allow to assess the differences in how the CSR concept can be viewed and approached to, which have an impact on its implementation, the scope of related actions, and corporate commitment (depending on company size).

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at determining the spatial variation in the carbon intensity of the agricultural sector in Europe. The analyses used the volume of greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector (in 2020), expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent, calculated according to the IPCC methodology for 31 European countries. To reduce variance and the impact of country size on emissions, three emissivity factors were calculated, depending on: agricultural area, value of goods produced by agriculture and population. To verify the relationship between emissivity and location, the Moran autocorrelation coefficient was used, calculated on a modified weighting matrix that, in addition to the criterion of a common border, takes into account the similarity of objects in terms of the values of diagnostic variables (similarity determined using cluster analysis) – in this case indicators describing the emissivity of the agricultural sector. The study showed that there was no reason to reject the hypothesis of a random distribution of objects in space with respect to the values of the indicators included in the study. It can therefore be concluded that there are some similarities in the emissivity from the different European economies, as evidenced by the cluster analysis results, while there is no spatial correlation.

The paper emphasizes the differences in the concentration of investments with the use of photovoltaic panels and solar collectors in voivodships with significant potential for using solar energy. The subject of the paper addresses, among others, the significant changes in renewable energy sources (RES) and EU subsidies that affect the economics of solar micro-installations in Poland. The study applied data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which included completed operations under the rural development program (RDP) for the period 2007-2013. The percentage share of the number of photovoltaic panel installations in Lubelskie and Mazowieckie Voivodships constituted 22% of that type of investments in the country (13% and 9% respectively, with a total capacity of 2,634 kW). However, in the case of the number of solar collector installations, the percentage share in Lubelskie and Mazowieckie Voivodships accounted for 44% of such installations in Poland (29% and 15%, respectively, with a total capacity of 4,239 kW). The results confirm the view that the location is an important determinant of photovoltaic panel and solar collector installations in Poland as shown in the examined voivodships characterized by the favorable solar radiation conditions.

The paper presents issues related to the agricultural insurance market in Poland. The researchperiod concerned the years 2006-2015. The market on the supply side was quite stable, there were nosudden changes in the number of companies and its structure. The paper analyzes changes in the number,value of agricultural insurance, as well as their share in insurance from the second section. A very strongpositive correlation between the insurance and the value of GDP as well as a smaller one in relation tothe value of global agricultural production was found. In turn, the strength of the relationship betweeneconomic and agricultural parameters with compensation from agricultural insurance was lower. Forcompensation from insurance of buildings in farms, the dependencies were even more insignificant. Thiswas a result of the unpredictable actions of natural forces and other extraordinary events.

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced many areas of human life, one of those areas is expenditure on food and food consumption in households. The paper aims to identify changes in household expenditure on food and food consumption in Poland in the span of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis covers the period from 2015 to 2021 (2022 when available). Based on data from Statistics Poland, percentage changes of nominal and real values as well as shares were presented. The results show that from 2015 to 2020 in real terms the value of household total expenditures increased and decreased after 2020. Households in Poland in 2020 spent more than earlier on food and non-alcoholic beverages and less on eating outside the house. The consumption of selected food products also changed in 2020 regarding the previous periods (2015-2019), but the majority of those changes were only temporary turmoil. Only the consumption of some dairy products in households in Poland increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed at a heightened level.

The main aim of this paper was to assess the factors of farmland abandonment in selectedmetropolitan areas in Poland. The research used secondary research material, including data from theMain Statistical Office (Polish GUS) and academic literature. Analyses were conducted by means of themethod of regression trees, among other things. The research found out that nearly 16% of farmland inPolish metropolitan areas had been abandoned. The factor that most affected set-aside was the share ofsmall farms with an area of less than 5 ha of agricultural land. In communes with the majority of smallfarms, almost 30% of agricultural land was set aside. Entrepreneurship indicator, population density andnet migration were also significant in explaining the phenomenon discussed in the paper. High values ofthese measures correlated with more advanced processes of farmland abandonment.

The aim of the paper was identify and assess progress in selected actions implemented under the Rural DevelopmentProgramme (RDP) 2014-2020 as a source of financing entities’ innovative undertakings. The availability of European fundsallocated to entities for increasing their competitiveness through innovativeness is a key element creating and developing innovativeeconomy. The paper describes the essence of innovativeness and indicates selected instruments supporting innovativeness underthe RDP 2014-2020. It also discusses the areas, ranges limits and use of support provided to business projects. The empirical datacame from reports, documents with public statistics and unpublished data of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation ofAgriculture. The authors stressed out the fact that the perception as well as the economic and financial situation of entities currentlyfunctioning under precarious and unstable conditions, affect their openness to the EU offer. The EU funds will enable new entitiesto initiate innovative trends, whereas old entities can continue these trends through investment activity. The process of applying forfunds is complicated, so it is not easy to receive support. It is necessary to take actions which will increase efficient use of the funds.

The problem of the ageing labour force in agriculture and the effects of this process have been studied and widely discussed for a long time. The paper aims to determine the level and pace of ageing of employees in Poland compared to other European Union countries, and in particular to compare its scale between agricultural and other occupations. The study uses LFS data gathered in the EUROSTAT database and the comparative method in relation to values of the renewal ratio. The age structure of employees changed noticeably between 2002 and 2022. The proportion of employees aged 50-64 in the group of all employees increased by 11 pp. in the EU. The analyses show that in the years 2002-2022, in both the EU and Poland, agricultural workers were the oldest group among all the major occupation categories. The renewal ratio for the agricultural worker category was 1.2 in the EU and 1.4 in Poland in 2022. Nevertheless, in the period under consideration, in the EU and in Poland, the pace of ageing was relatively higher for other occupations, especially for services and sales workers, clerical support workers, and craft and related trades workers. On the other hand, managers are the only employee group in Poland reporting an increase in the renewal ratio. Changes in the age structure of the agricultural labour force in Poland and in the EU need to be explored in the context of the dynamic changes taking place in the agricultural sector in recent decades, and also in correlation with demographic trends in European societies.

The paper’s objective is to identify the level of organic fruit and vegetables prices compared to their conventional substitutes’ prices and determine the price premiums for organic products. In order to achieve this goal, prices of both types of food were quoted for 9 months (between October 2022 and June 2023) in various types of commercial outlets offering organic and conventional food located in the Poznań agglomeration. Each week, 60 price registers were created – 30 for organic food and 30 for conventional food. It allowed to calculate the average monthly prices of the investigated products and, based on that, the average price premiums for selected fruits and vegetables. The conducted study proved that generally, the prices of the investigated fruit and vegetables were relatively high and fluctuated similarly, in line with their seasonality and storage properties. The highest price premiums (over 100%) were noted for red beetroots, tomatoes, apples, and potatoes. The price premiums lower than 100% were observed for carrots, onions, bananas, and cucumbers. A decrease in price premiums compared to the former study has been observed, however the price premiums in the Polish market are still relatively high considering more mature organic food markets. This proves that there is a need for further research to improve the market infrastructure efficiency, which would lower the price of organic food.

In the Strategic Plan for the CAP 2023-2027, the goal of special importance is the strengthening ecosystem services. Eco-schemes are a new type of direct support intended for farmers taking additional actions to protect the environment and climate. The study undertakes an institutional and environmental assessment of the proposal to withdraw from implementing some of the assumptions included in the eco-schemes. As a result, the criteria for their availability turned out to be inadequate for smallholder farms. Farmers implementing eco-schemes are exposed to additional expenditures or reduced incomes due to the extensification of production. However, they may receive applicable financial compensation on the annual basis. The current, rather complicated system authorizing payments for 2023, meant that relatively not many farmers made such efforts. At the same time, this results in receiving approximately 50% of support from the direct payments comparing to the previous year. In this paper there has been suggested the need for modification of the eco-schemes with the special emphasis on smallholder farms. It was based on two pillars: technological and environmental, with a proposal of requirements that may be relatively easy to meet in practice.

The aim of the paper is to present the essence of natural fertilizers in the form of RENURE, taking into account environmental and production-economic issues. For several decades, international programs and strategies for sustainable development have been implemented. The need to achieve various objectives in business activity is also underlined by the European Green Deal strategy, introduced at the end of 2019. An important element of it is the correct management of natural fertilizers, both for environmental and production and economic reasons. The case of the Netherlands was presented, where pilot studies on the conversion of manure into RENURE were introduced. The study used literature sources and selected, recent statistics from Eurostat resources (2019, 2020). Agriculture in EU countries in the context of production and possibilities of using natural fertilizers is illustrated. Analysis of statistical data has shown that agriculture in the EU is highly diversified in terms of manure management. The case of the Netherlands, which has implemented the RENURE pilot program, results from the specificity of their agriculture – a small area of the country, a very high population and a high stocking density of livestock. Countries that face similar agricultural challenges as the Netherlands can seek similar solutions. In the case of Polish, which differs significantly in terms of the organisation of agriculture and its natural management conditions, the economic and environmental justification for the introduction of RENURE is not justified on a sector-wide scale.

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the behavioral factors that impact the investment decisions made by farm managers. A survey carried out in 2023 with 152farms located in Greater Poland was the source of empirical materials. The study suggests that overconfidence and over-optimism are not widespread in the group surveyed. In assessing their own knowledge of investment topics, 74% of farmers claimed to be equally competent as other agricultural producers. When preparing the implementation of an investment, most respondents (47%) foresee a neutral scenario of how the situation could development, 20% for an optimistic scenario and only13% pick a pessimistic one. Nearly25% of interviewees admitted to rely on the brand’s reputation when choosing a fixed asset (the availability heuristic). The vast majority of farmers surveyed (65%) replied that investing their own funds requires a more in-depth analysis. This corroborates the conclusions made by Richard Thaler and Eric Johnson who discovered that people are less willing to risk their own hard-earned money.

The paper discusses the issue of identifying selected aspects of banking sector activity in Poland under conditions of economic uncertainty. In terms of time scope, the conditions of the pandemic were taken into account, including the years 2018-2020. In an attempt to identify the most important business dilemmas of banking, the case study of PKO BP bank has been selected for analysis. Based on its own research, it was noted that the year 2020, precisely because of the coronavirus pandemic, somehow forced sectoral changes in the financial enterprise management. The study verified the hypothesis that the bank’s overall financial performance is affected not only by management decisions, but also by external factors that are difficult to predict. Institutional decisions of the central bank and the government are also a consequence of macroeconomic uncertainty. It was noted that as a result of the National Bank of Poland’s monetary policy in 2020, the evaluated bank PKO BP reported, compared to 2019, a financial loss (almost -3.0 billion PLN), including: a decrease in general revenues (-9.05%), as well as a decrease in interest income due (-6.90%). Finally, based on the descriptive analysis and the discussion of the study results, the most important conclusions and recommendations were formulated.

Ukraine has very good natural conditions for agricultural production and year by year it is becoming an increasingly important producer in Europe and the World. Poland, despite worse natural conditions and more than three times smaller area of utilization agricultural area, is also an important producer in the EU. The current geopolitical situation requires comparative analyzes of numerous aspects of the agricultural potential of Poland and Ukraine. They are necessary for utilitarian reasons and provide a scientific basis for making political decisions of a strategic nature, especially in relation to agricultural policy. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to compare the trends of changes and the current state in the consumption of mineral fertilizers and pesticides in Polish and Ukrainian agriculture. The material for analysis was statistical data from the FAO. The analysis covers the years 1992-2020. The consumption of mineral NPK fertilizers and pesticides in Poland and Ukraine in the years 1992-2020 varied both in terms of the level, dynamics and directions of changes. The consumption of mineral fertilizers in the analyzed period was higher in Poland than in Ukraine. On the other hand, the use of pesticides in most years was higher in Ukraine than in Poland. However, since 2015, this regularity has changed and therefore the consumption of pesticides in Poland is higher than in Ukraine. Considering the outlined trends in the consumption of mineral fertilizers and plant protection products, it should be pointed out that Ukraine will strengthen its position as the leading food producer in the world. In this case, it will be a big challenge for Poland and the entire EU, which should be the subject of further scientific analyses.

This paper analyzes mutual relationships between the institution of the state, agriculture, and agricultural interventions. It primarily adopts a historical (retrospective) approach, starting by identifying the socioeconomic importance of agriculture, and then moving to the relationships between agriculture and the state. The final section focuses on the importance of state interventionism in agriculture, taking into consideration both historical events and specific (mostly environmental) challenges of the present. The authors relied on the relevant literature on agricultural interventionism and on mutual relationships between the state and agriculture. Despite a number of deficiencies, it is essential for the state to be actively involved in the agricultural sector. The regulatory activities carried out include not only the real impact on agricultural production (its volume and quality), but also affect issues of agriculture’s impact on the environment and social life. By assuring basic security, the state enables the emergence of farming innovations which are a necessary driver of agricultural development, which, moreover, must be conditioned by the unknown environmental problems present in the past. Moreover, the production and distribution of food alone represents one of the fundamental dimensions of security and is a guarantor of full economic growth.

The aim of the paper is to present the situation of the protected products market in the European Union in terms of their supply. To protect the names of specific products, their unique characteristics, and the traditional manufacture, a quality scheme with the following designations: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), Geographical Indication (GI) and Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) was introduced in the European Union. EU databases such as eAmbrosia, GIview and European Commissions reports were used in this study. Recently available data and, to show changes, data for 2013-2023 were used. Conducting research proved the role of protected agri-food products is growing, both in terms of value and quantity. This may indicate that food producers are becoming more active in submitting products to the protected product system, which is also beneficial to consumers. However, there are large disparities among EU countries in terms of producers’ activity in registering products. Most of the agri-food products on the register of protected products come from southern Europe countries. The structure of registered agri-food products is dominated by vegetables and fruits, cheeses, and meat and meat products.

The paper presents the analysis of groupage transport supplying meat and meat products from wholesalers to grocery shops. The analysis uses transport efficiency indicators related to time management and is based on data collected for two cases, in two periods of 20 working days each. Based on the data collected by self-registration, loading lists, driver’s records in a self-prepared schedule and supplementary interviews with the driver, the following indicators were calculated and discussed: daily load, daily distance, time of transport processes, technical and operational speeds, transport work, vehicle and time efficiencies, and vehicle performance. The most important factors affecting the efficiency were determined. It was found that the daily load varies and depends, not only on the route and the number of pick-up points, but also on the days of the week. It was revealed that in the working time structure, the time of driving with a load was on average from 31% to 44% of the overall time. Transport work varied, depending on the route, from 12.1 to 119.0 tkm, and vehicle performance, from 2.05 to 19.11 tkm/h. The time efficiency ratio ranged from 0.38 to 0.45, and the transport efficiency from 0.82 to 0.86. The possibility of optimizing the routes and improving the indicators are related to, among others, vehicles’ technical accessories and warehouses equipment facilitating faster unloading and loading, as well as digitization of ordering and delivery settling processes.

The purpose of this paper is an explanation of a strategic independency or dependency of particular countries of the European Union on raw materials imports. A strategic importance of raw materials for the EU and world economy is connected with the necessity of these materials for the production, including agricultural production and industrial production for agriculture. The design is finding the threats for the further development of most EU economies which results from their dependency on raw materials imports. There were fifteen net importers of raw materials in 2016. Most important of them were: Germany, Italy, Belgium and Spain. These first four countries did not change their positions in 2019 and 2021. The quantity of EU net importers decreased to fourteen member-states in 2019 and to thirteen countries in 2021. However, many EU net importers deepened their trade deficits of raw materials in 2021. The Dutch paradox explains the Netherlands position of the first EU net exporter in spite of this country dependency on imports of raw materials. Practical implications of the results can be considered to elaborate the short-term and long-term EU economic and trade policy.

Entrepreneurship depends on many interrelated conditions. Creating favorable conditions for conducting business activity and attracting potential investors is one of the main tasks of local government units, with particular emphasis on communes. The vicinity of large urban centers proves to be helpful in this regard. As a generator of development, the metropolis enters into functional interactions with neighboring units, providing them with spatial, economic and social potential. The paper attempts to assess the conditions for creating new enterprises in the communes that are under the influence of the Krakow Metropolitan Area (KMA). The following conditions were analysed: housing infrastructure resources, labor supply, including specialist staff, and business environment institutions. It has been shown that the perception of entrepreneurship issues depends on the distance from the KMA core. In communes adjacent to Krakow, the positive impact of the proximity of the metropolis on the creation of new business entities was more often noticed. However, the close location of the metropolis core also has negative effects. Communes located in the immediate vicinity emphasize the deterioration of spatial order and the excessive burden on local budgets with the need to carry out investments in the development of infrastructure serving companies and new residents. Zones under the influence of metropolitan areas are characterized by more favorable conditions for the development of enterprises.

One of the nexus in the modern energy sector are bioenergy companies. To generate green electricity, economic operators trade in the market, incurring transaction costs. The main objective of the paper is to identify and describe the transaction costs using a case study of biomass combined heat and power plant (CHP). The company used for the case study was Polmos Żyrardów. A diagnostic survey with a questionnaire was carried out. It was found that information procurement and negotiation costs are the most significant in the transaction cost structure of a biomass CHP plant. The importance of access to information about biomass suppliers in the region and the company›s closest surroundings was highlighted the most. This factor significantly increases the time-consuming activities that make up the process of acquiring information about a potential business partner. The aspect of the formalisation of the contract and the building of mutual trust between the participants in the transaction were emphasised as elements to minimise the uncertainty and opportunism of the partners. It is argued that the level of transaction costs influences decision-making within the organisation, also translating into the efficiency of the entire biomass CHP area. Conscious management of energy resources and care for the environment has made Polmos Żyrardów self-sufficient in energy. In light of the challenges of the energy transition, bioenergy installations make an important contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building circular bioeconomy.

The paper discusses selected trend changes in the Polish wood-based products market under conditions of economic uncertainty. From a mesoeconomic approach, using Big Data resources and online e-commerce tools, the wood market was analyzed from the perspective of demand and online user activity. In terms of time scope, the research covered the period 2019-2021, including the pandemic year. Secondary data based on Google Ads and Google Analytics were analyzed. The study used selected open-source analytical tools, including Google Keyword Planner and Data Studio. The controversial hypothesis, which assumes that potential demand for wood and wood-based products shows a sustainable trend even under economic uncertainty, was verified. The findings were visualized and discussed. As a result, although the rationale for confirming the assumed hypothesis was not obtained. However, the results of the research proved to be interesting, out of the box. It turned out that the popularity and multifaceted use of wood is not limited by typical barriers. The consequence of the market situation is a growing demand for wood, but at the same time a supply deficit. This is a challenge for the wood market benchmarking and formulating practical recommendations for economic policy in the wood-based sector in Poland.

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the renewable energy market and its importance for the agricultural sector. In order to assess the renewable energy market in the agricultural sector, a questionnaire survey was carried out among farmers. The survey was conducted in the years 2020-2021 in a group of 400 farm owners. A 15-question questionnaire was used to conduct the study. This study covered two issues, namely: the use of renewable energy sources and the production of renewable energy on farms. In order to characterize the current state of the renewable energy market, secondary data from the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) were used. The use of renewable energy in agriculture makes it possible to solve various challenges related to the use of fossil fuels, and what is important, is associated with little or no emission to the environment of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The conducted analyzes allow to draw conclusions that the market of renewable energy sources in rural areas has great potential and significant importance for the agricultural sector, however, it requires efforts to increase the interest in using renewable energy sources.