CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF BUDGET EXPENDITURE ON THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN POLAND IN THE PASSING FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE 2014-2020

Abstract

The aim of this article was to demonstrate the changes that took place in the structure of financing the budget of the Polish agricultural sector in the passing EU financial perspective 2014-2020. The subject of the research was expenditure on agriculture, including both the state budget and EU funds. The structure of expenses in particular areas of the agricultural budget was also considered, regarding agriculture, agricultural markets and rural development, seen as investment in the development and modernization of the agricultural sector, as well as social expenses within The Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (ASIF). The study used methods of structure and dynamics analysis and was based on source material from draft budget bills for relevant years. It was proved that the importance of the agricultural sector, considered through the perspective of the funds allocated to it from the state budget, is systematically decreasing. These expenditures are significantly boosted by EU funds, which, despite the continuing downward trend, still play an important role in the development and support of the agricultural sector in Poland. The tendency is also that the share of expenditure on items from the “agriculture” part of the budget is higher than on the “agricultural markets” part of the budget, and that the agricultural budget is being renationalised (after the state budget being multiplied by European funds for several years, the share of state funds in the expenditure has increased).