Family farms, as production units combining the characteristics of the economical operator and the related household, have been and will stay the primary production units in European agriculture for many years. However, the importance of income from agricultural production for families surviving in agrarian areas, as well as the position of agriculture in shaping national income, is changing. The share of the agricultural sector in the production of gross home product stabilised in Poland at the level typical of most highly developed countries (approximately 2.5-3.0%). At the same time, the number of families gaining income from agricultural activities has been decreasing for respective decades, and the habitation of villages or even the possession of farmland does not prejudge the relation with agricultural activities. The observed de-grarification is accompanied by a decrease in the share of agrarian residents at national level (deuralisation), a change in the social structure of the village and a modification of the stratified hierarchy within it (resratification) and the improvement of a fresh agricultural model (adaptation of agricultural production structures to marketplace economy)1. The concept of disgrarification is very spacious, multifaceted and multidimensional2. Most authors of disgrarification (returning) mention to both changes in agricultural holdings and transformation in the social, cultural, environmental spheres3, or even institutional4.
Due to the low flexibility in request for products produced by agriculture and the limited resources of agricultural land, it is not possible to make all farms simultaneously. On the another hand, it is crucial that the decommissioning process is dominated by divestments that offer an chance to improve resource efficiency and increase farm owners' income.
Both the agrarn structure and the pace of its change vary widely across the country. The causes of this phenomenon are mostly seen in natural and historical conditions.5which is mostly justified. In the last 30 years external conditions have played an crucial function in the improvement of changes in the agrarian structure, including the following globalisation, the process of Poland's integration into the structures of the European Union, the evolution of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the periods of recession in the planet economy and the changing geopolitical situation. These phenomena have mostly contributed to the transformation of part of agricultural holdings into commodity farms or agribusiness enterprises. Due to limited land resources and difficulties in accessing capital, this was possible only for any operators. Even in the early 21st century (2002), the statistic of the Central Statistical Office showed nearly 3 million farms in Poland. Currently, their number is estimated at 1.3 million. At the same time, any of these entities have stopped in their improvement and, by limiting their contacts with the market, are stagnant and over time liquidated. Due to the low flexibility in request for products produced by agriculture and the limited resources of agricultural land, it is not possible to make all farms simultaneously. On the another hand, it is crucial that divestments dominate the liquidation process.6, an chance to improve resource efficiency and increase farm owners' income. The conversion of subsequent agricultural holdings into non-agricultural households is simply a major sign of agrarian disgrarification.
The integration of Poland into the structures of the European Union was an crucial impetus for the improvement of agriculture. The inclusion of agricultural holdings in the common agricultural policy instruments, the simultaneous support of both larger and smaller operators, slowed down changes in the agrarian structure. Due to the weakness of the leasing institutions and the land usage evidence system, it is very hard to specify and measure the scale of the liquidation (sleeping) of farms. 1 of the main causes of distortion of authoritative statistic is the lease practices based on oral contracts, where the agricultural taxation is paid by the landowner and he applies for subsidies from the user. Area payments in specified a situation shall service as a ‘loan activity’ paid from public funds. The owner of the land retains formally the position of farmer, and the user gains an additional area, which is part of another, frequently small, agricultural holding, and thus is subject to little legal rigour, e.g. in terms of change.
Steps to support entrepreneurship, the improvement of communication infrastructure and the economical improvement of individual regions are conducive to the process of moving distant from agricultural activities. The anticipation of starting a non-agricultural business or starting a occupation outside agriculture has opened up the possible of obtaining alternate income for many agricultural families. Reallocation of farm labour resources, its transformation into a non-agricultural economical entity is simply a manifestation of creative demolition and degrarification of agricultural families. However, it offers a chance to shift the resources of the land to those remaining in agricultural production.
Reallocation of farm labour resources, its transformation into a non-agricultural economical entity is simply a manifestation of creative demolition and degrarification of agricultural families. However, it offers a chance to shift the resources of the land to those remaining in agricultural production.
The uneven economical advancement of the country remains a major problem in supporting agricultural development. In order to accelerate the improvement of the agrarian structure, more support for entrepreneurship and infrastructure improvement in peripheral and agrarian areas with low own possible (in this respect) is needed. This will let a faster outflow of excess labour from smaller farms and free land resources from these operators.
The COVID-19 pandemic, although affecting the continuity of supply and supply chains, did not have a crucial impact on the pace of the desgrarization processes. While the increased uncertainty and hazard with it has led any farmers to hold decisions on the continuation of investment and investment processes, it is hard to confirm these trends with available statistical data.
The reflection of the stages of agricultural transformation in Western European countries allows us to conclude that besides in Poland the processes of de-grarification, accompanied by the concentration of production factors in economically stronger entities, will intensify.
Prolonged periods of restrictions on agricultural production (often nearly 20 years) and subsequent generational changes at that time have caused any skills and habits to vanish in part of agricultural holdings. In combination with the decapitalisation of existing production resources and the economical consumption of fixed assets, this prevents the return to agricultural production in practice. Where possible, the material base held has been adapted to alternate household needs or sold, and the land is utilized by larger operators economically or set aside in the hope of expanding its value in the future. However, there is seldom a definitive transfer of agricultural land.
The closure of the Russian marketplace for Polish agricultural products, followed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused strong turbulence on agricultural markets. However, they did not have a crucial impact on the pace of agrarian degrarisation processes in Poland. The fall in prices and the difficulties in selling the agricultural products produced led to a deterioration in the economical situation of mainly commodity farms. Their users proceed to look forward with large uncertainty, fearing the changes resulting from the implementation of the alleged European Green Deal and the possible integration of Ukraine into EU structures. However, the effects of these 2 factors are presently very hard to measure clearly, given the ongoing conceptual work and the deficiency of many detailed solutions and arrangements.
The reflection of the stages of agricultural transformation in Western European countries allows us to conclude that besides in Poland the processes of de-grarification, accompanied by the concentration of production factors in economically stronger entities, will intensify. The pace of these changes depends mostly on the political and legal solutions adopted. Degrarisation of agrarian areas and agricultural families are phenomena that do not should be perceived negatively. They accompany the economical improvement of most countries in the world. In Poland, 35 years after the systemic transformation and 20 years after the accession to the structures of the European Union, the percent of households drawing income from agriculture has decreased importantly and will proceed to decrease. On the another hand, it is crucial that the resources released from the liquidated holdings by way of a diversion be managed in another entities or another activities where they will be utilized more efficiently.
The production possible of agricultural land must be preserved. It would be best if it were made available to economically stronger actors. It is so essential to increase control over land resources, which requires the modification of the provisions governing the lease rules, so that they take better account of the interests of the tenants and at the same time do not undermine the ownership of its existing owners. Linking area payments to the work to keep simplified agricultural accounting will limit the practice of collecting area payments by non-agricultural operators. At the same time, the current strategy of taxation of agricultural land should be modified to reduce the amount of waste. The costs of holding parcels excluded from agricultural production must be increased by including them in property taxation and by expanding the rate of agricultural taxation on agricultural land in mediocre agricultural culture. Supporting the improvement of entrepreneurship, taking action to make fresh non-agricultural jobs, the improvement of regional communication infrastructure will stimulate the release of labour from farms and encourage local development.
The production possible of agricultural land must be preserved. It is so essential to increase control over land resources, which requires the modification of the provisions governing the lease rules, so that they take better account of the interests of the tenants and at the same time do not undermine the ownership of its existing owners.
The fact that rural, social and economical disagraration takes place on many levels is besides evidenced by the fact that now only 2 higher education institutions in Poland have retained the agricultural component in their names (H. Kołłłątaj Agricultural School in Warsaw and the H. Kołłątaj Agricultural University in Krakow), and many educational institutions have closed or importantly restricted recruitment to agricultural fields. This is undoubtedly a manifestation of the market-forced disgrarification of education, which, given the importance of the food sector to national security, must be assessed negatively.
1 J. Wilkin, Evolution of agrarian improvement paradigms, ‘Village and Agriculture’ 2008, No 3, pp. 18-28; M. Halamska, Rural transformation 1989-2009: variable rhythm of modernization, ‘Regional and Local Studies’ 2011, No. 2(44), pp. 5-25.
2 T. Voivodic, Diversification and disgrarification processes in a fragmented agrarian farming, „Hugon Kołłątaj University of Agriculture investigation in Kraków. Trials’ 2017, No 535 (412).
3 K. Must, W. Must, Dezagrarization and dezanimization in protected areas of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship – natural, economical and organization aspects, European investigation Centre for tiny Farms, Agricultural University of Cracow, 2020.
4 R. Budzinowski, Developmental contradictions in agricultural law, “Review of Agricultural Law”, 2008, No. 2(4), pp. 13-28.
5 E.J. Szymanska, Changes in the agrarian structure in the Polish village in 1918-2018, ‘Rural Works’ 2021, No. 27, pp. 31-58; J.S. Clock, Agrarn issue in Poland, Institute of Economics of Agriculture and Food Management – State investigation Institute, Warsaw 2018.
6 Diversifications in agriculture are the planned simplification of agricultural production and the engagement of the farmer's household resources in the agricultural holding's production activities, leading to the release of land, labour and capital resources that can be utilized in another agricultural or non-agricultural activities. See T. Voivodic, Diversifications in agricultural holdings – essence, definitions, breakdown, “Village and Agriculture” 2010, No. 2(147), pp. 96-108.
