REGIONAL DETERMINANTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT IN POLAND

Abstract

The aim of the analysis was to determine changes in the level of spatial concentration of production in Poland in the years 1990-2020. The analysis includes output and commodity production, the production of basic agricultural raw materials, the livestock of cattle, cows, pigs, hens and animals converted to LU, and changes in the level of yield and milk yield of cows. The study used data from the Central Statistical Office and the Local Data Bank. In order to limit short-term variability, especially in crop production, five-year averages for the beginning and end of the period were used in most of the analyses. The analysis was carried out for the currently binding administrative division including 16 voivodships. The research has shown large changes in the spatial distribution of agricultural production in Poland. First of all, the Wielkopolskie Voivodship gained in the production of agricultural raw materials, as it increased its share in the majority of plant and animal agricultural products, the Mazowieckie Voivodship, which specialized in animal production (except pork), and the Podlaskie Voivodship, with the production of milk and beef livestock, developed above average. On the other hand, the importance of voivodeships from South-Eastern Poland decreased, as animal production was marginalised, and plant production declined as a result of the greater exclusion of land from agricultural production and a higher decline in crop yield. In the case of the provinces of Western Poland, there was also a significant reduction in the livestock production, but the importance of that region in crop production increased, mainly due to a higher-than-average increase in crop yield in Poland.