Consumption of Mineral Fertilizers in the Polish Agriculture – Trends and Directions of Changes

Balanced, rational fertilization determines high and valuable yields of crops. Polish agriculture has been considered traditional, pro-ecological, with relatively low consumption of agrochemicals for many decades. Transformations in the economic and social area, in particular Poland’s accession to the European Union, have significantly changed this picture. This paper presents the results of the research on the trends in fertilizer consumption in the Polish agriculture. The main time range of the analyses covered the period of 2013–2017. The source materials used in the study were statistical data for the entire country and provinces, published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS), as well as results of empirical studies. According to analyses, the pressure associated with the increase in the use of mineral fertilizers in Poland is growing. In the economic year 2017/2018, the average consumption of mineral fertilizers in Poland was at a level of 141.6 kg NPK per hectare of agricultural lands and was higher by 39.2 kg than in the 2004/2005 season. The empirical studies were carried out in six randomly selected provinces in Poland. Total 1034 surveys completed by farmers were analysed. Comparative analyses were carried out using a multiple correspondence analysis (MPA). Based on the analysis performed, it can be stated that the direction of changes in the consumption of fertilizers depends on the area and economic size of the agricultural holding as well as on the district in which the agricultural holding is located. The article points out problems in the area of sustainable fertilizer consumption in Poland (high consumption of nitrogen fertilizers, low level of soil liming, etc.). Perspective directions of changes (precision agriculture, innovative fertilizers, increased farmers’ awareness of nutrient efficiency and reduction of negative impact on the environment) were also summarized.