Place and Role of Large-Scale Farms in Polish Agriculture

The main aim of this study is to assess changes in the structure of farms in Poland after the political and economic transformations initiated in 1989. Changes in the structure of farms and their areas will be presented against the background of selected European Union (EU) countries. The following EU-15 countries were selected: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Of the countries that joined the EU in 2004, the selected nations were Czechia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Hungary, and in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania. In analyzing changes in the structure of farms in Poland, special attention was paid to the place and role of large- scale farms. The sources of research materials were statistical data and literature. The comparative method was used in the analysis of research materials. The faster rate of increase in labor costs in the national economy and the prices of inputs for agriculture compared to the selling prices of agricultural products caused a decline in the unit profitability of agricultural production. In this situation, farmers reacted defensively by increasing the scale of production, mainly by expanding farm areas, which led to the creation of large-scale enterprises of 100 hectares or more of agricultural land. In Poland, a factor conducive to the creation of such units was the ownership transformation of state-owned farms (PGRs) caused by the political and economic changes in 1989. The current policy towards large-scale enterprises leasing State Treasury land threatens their functioning. Restricting the development possibilities of this group of enterprises is not conducive to improving the structure of farms. It threatens to reduce production and may also cause social unrest because these enterprises are significant employers in rural areas.