THE STRUCTURE OF PRODUCTION FACTORS IN FARMS AND THEIR PRODUCTIVITY. THE CASE OF VEGETABLE FARMS IN POLAND

Abstract

An increase in productivity in agriculture is achieved thanks to technological progress and changing the structure of production factors into more economically effective ones. The observed directions of changes include: production intensification and an increase in the capital-labour ratio. The aim of the presented research is to determine whether the level of production efficiency in vegetable farms depends on the structure of production factors involved in the farm. In this study, data from the Polish FADN for 2010-2017 were used. It was found that the productivity of inputs and profitability of production were at a similar level in each group of farms, while the profitability of work was the highest in farms with capital-intensive production techniques. It was 60% and 100% more, respectively, than in farms with land-intensive and labour-intensive techniques. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that an increase in the capital-labour ratio leads to a significant increase in labour productivity. In future, rational support for investments on farms may lead to an increase in the competitiveness of agriculture, as well as an increase in the scale of production and changes in the structure of agriculture.