Use of Organic Seeds in Selected Organic Farms in the Area of Lublin (Eastern Poland)

Abstract

In 1990, organic farming in Poland started with only 27 farms. The number of organic farmsincreased more than double by 2000. Since then, organic land increased more than tenfold. In 2009,there were already nearly 17,423 organic food producers and 277 processors, i.e. over 367,000 hectaresof agricultural land were managed organically, which constituted 2.28% of the country’s totalagricultural land. Twenty farms, out of over 2090, producing organic food were selected in the area ofLublin (Eastern Poland). They were given the questionnaire about using the organic seeds in theirproduction in the season 2010-2011. Eight-five percent of the farmers used organic seeds in theirorganic food production, however, only 35% of them used organic seeds exclusively, although threefourth of them claimed that it was right to use them. Over half of the farmers used home-saved seeds intheir organic food production or exchanged them with other organic farmers. Only one third of thefarmers bought organic seeds from the seed companies. All the farmers, who used organic seeds,thought the quality of the seeds was good. Still, less than one third of them thought that the tolerance todiseases and pests of the cultivars used for organic production was good. Eighty percent of the seedsused for organic food production had no treatment. Modern organic ways of farming were used only by25% of the surveyed farmers.