The characteristics of farmers applying for the EU investment support in Poland

The paper aims at improving our knowledge about the response of farmers to a major instrument of the rural development policy in Poland. Close cooperation with the managing Agency was established in order to collect and analyze the data included in the application forms. They served as a basis for calculating linear correlations and descriptive statistics, which in turn, wherever possible, were compared with the relevant data for the entire farming population in the region under study. It turned out that our sample was characterized by a significantly higher level of education and bigger holdings than the national or regional averages. Furthermore, we observed that the SAPARD contributed to the backward contractual market channel integration in the agri-food sector. Finally, it was found out that Polish farmers showed a very limited interest in those schemes that promoted specialization of their farms, contrary to the assumptions endorsed in the Operational Program.