ASSESSMENT OF FARMS FROM HIGH NATURE VALUE FARMLAND AREAS IN POLAND

Abstract

The objective of the study is to assess production potential and structure and the economic situation of farms pursuing their activity in areas (in municipalities) with various saturation of High Nature Value farmland (HNVf) areas in Poland. The first part of the study presented a method of designating HNVf areas, designated by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation National Research Institute (ISSPC-NRI) and the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI), in cooperation with the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences (ITLS), the Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAFE-PAS), and the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (PSPB) upon the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the European Commission (EC). HNVf areas have been designated on the basis of the adopted criteria of characteristics of extensive agriculture and high nature value areas. On the other hand, the second part of the paper consisted of the organisational and economic assessment of farms from municipalities with various saturation of HNVf areas in Poland, uninterruptedly keeping accounts for the Polish FADN in the years 2016-2018. It was determined that farms from municipalities with a high saturation of HNVf areas, when compared to farms from municipalities with a lower saturation of such areas, being a reference point, have a lower production potential of soils and achieve worse production results. They have, inter alia, a smaller UAA size, smaller labour inputs and smaller capital value, including machinery and equipment. In addition, they have lower income per 1 ha of UAA, which limits their development opportunities.