The Efficiency of Public Financial Support Investments into Dairy Farms in Poland by the European Union

The main aim of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of public financial support investment activities into selected dairy farms in Poland. The research targeted 207 farms that earned their living through milk production and benefited from the 2011-2014 European Union (EU) financial support for investments carried out under the "modernization of agricultural holdings" included in the Rural Development Programme (RDP 2007-2013). Two research hypotheses were developed for this work. The first research hypothesis, "the possibility of obtaining funding for an investment is a factor that determines its implementation", was positively verified. This was mainly due to the size of the investments carried out in the research farms, where an average increase in fixed assets was recorded at the level of 90%. The econometric calculations were carried out indirectly from the declarations of the farmers themselves, who, during the research, excluded the possibility of carrying out investments without receiving external support. The second research hypothesis, "investments carried out in farms improved their economic situation", was positively verified. This was shown with the calculated results of agricultural income in the research farms, which increased in the analyzed period from 66.5%, to 125%.