Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to investigate spatial determinants of farmers' interest in pro-investment programs co-financed by the EU, by identifying and describing the territorial clusters of rural areas in Poland where the applications rates for these programs were above or below the national average. We tested for spatial autocorrelation using Moran's global spatial autocorrelation index, while the search for clusters was done using a local version of Moran's statistics. The results show significant regional variation in the farmers' interest in these programs in Poland. This interest was higher in regions with a greater level of agricultural development and better agrarian structure. In Poland, both of these factors are related not only to natural conditions, but also to strong historical context. We conclude that the pro-investment programs contribute to the deepening of development differences in Polish agriculture in the territorial dimension, which is not in line with the basic assumptions of cohesion policy.
Highlights
Poland participates in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rural development policy since its accession to the EU in 2004, the financial perspective 2007–2013 was the first full-time UE programming period during which Poland could choose the programs from a full range of possible policy measures accessible for all EU countries
The interest was higher in regions with a greater level of agricultural potential and a better agrarian structure, which in the case of Poland is related to natural conditions but, above all, to historical factors
The results suggest that pro-investment programs contribute to the deepening of development differences in Polish agriculture in the territorial dimension
Summary
Poland participates in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rural development policy since its accession to the EU in 2004, the financial perspective 2007–2013 was the first full-time UE programming period during which Poland could choose the programs from a full range of possible policy measures accessible for all EU countries. For the first three years of the membership, Poland implemented a Temporary Rural Development Instrument (TRDI). The TRDI was targeted to support four accompanying measures (agri-environment, early retirement, afforestation, and LFA payments) and a number of small-scale measures introduced for these countries, such as developing producer groups, support for semi-subsistence farms, technical assistance, and complements to direct payments [1]. Based on the general strategic guidelines for rural-development programs supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Polish government drew up the first 7-year Rural Development Program (PRDP 2007–2013) [2].
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