Agricultural transformation in Poland: a long-term analysis

This paper presents the evolution of the Polish agricultural sector between 1989 and 2016, under the initial influence of the transformation process from a planned to a market economy (i.e. under new social and economic conditions), and later in the context of Poland's integration into the European Union. As demonstrated in this study, although the importance of agriculture declined in the period under consideration, it remains a major sector of the national economy. The amount of arable acreage has decreased while the labour force remaind constant and fixed assets experienced a moderate growth. Despite a number of positive developments, farmland structure remains inadequate. Changes in plant and livestock production were analysed as well as income in the agriculture sector. It was demonstrated that, aside from the development of international trade in products from the agriculture and food industries, GAP funds for the agricultural sector, allocated after Poland's accession to the EU, have been the primary determinant of the agricultural sector and its development in recent years. The continued evolvement of agricultural structures, in close combination with supporting measures for the creation of new jobs in rural areas, will be the key challenge for national agricultural and economic policies in the years to come.