<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The aim of this article is to present the need for a view of a family farm that is complementary to neoclassical economics and outline the framework concepts on which the future systems theory of family farms could be based. The article is a conceptual overview. The paper presents the development of economics and organization of farms. It was emphasized that in addition to the analytical approach, which today fits into the neoclassical mainstream of economic thought, the organic approach, which is related to the contemporary systems approach, was also important in the discipline. The authors presented two trends considered to be the foundation of the target theory of family farms: systems thinking and new institutional economics. An outline of the concept of a new approach to family farms is presented as a systemic whole connecting the family and its household involved in agricultural production, with the possibility of reducing internal transaction costs (agency costs) being an important attribute of this whole. Family farms still remain the predominant form of agricultural activity in Poland, Europe, and other continents. The family nature of the entities creates their specificity both in terms of goals and behaviors, which is difficult to reduce to the neoclassical model of firm, which seeks to maximize profits. What is needed is a holistic, systems approach complementary to the predominant neoclassical approach, considering close relations between the family and the agricultural production unit.
</abstract>

PhD, DSc, ProfTit, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Economics and Finance

Department of Economics and Organisation of Enterprises

Department of Economics of Agricultural and Horticultural Holdings

Beyond the Black Box: Towards a Systems Theory of Farming Family and Family Farm

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The aim of the research was to evaluate wages of wage earners and farmers’ own labor payment based on farm income in terms of various types of farming in Poland. The paper also examines the impact of subsidies on the payment of farmers’ own labor inputs and production efficiency. The research involved farms keeping accounting records, which were classified by the FADN methodology (TF8). The analysis uses standard results from 2010, 2015, and 2019 processed in the FADN EU system. Relatively low wages for wage earners were observed on farms specialized in permanent crops (EUR 2.12–2.76/hour) and horticulture (EUR 2.05–3.32/hour), and quite high on mixed farms (EUR 4.05–6.67/hour) and farms specialized in other grazing livestock (EUR 3.98–6.04/hour). Assuming wages for wage earners as the cost of one hour of farmers’ own labor, at the level of income without subsidies, farmers’ own labor was fully paid only on farms specialized in horticulture and granivores, as well as in 2010 and 2015 on farms specialized in permanent crops. On the other hand, income with subsidies ensured full payment of farmers’ own labor on farms specialized in horticulture and granivores; in 2010 on farms specialized in field crops, as well as in 2010 and 2015 on farms specialized in permanent crops and dairy cows. In the remaining cases (i.e., types and years), farmers’ own labor inputs were partially paid (from 22.2 to 96.9%). The research concerned commercial farms with market-oriented production.
However, there are also farms in Poland, which are not so closely linked with market, therefore their economic situation may be much worse. As a consequence, their opportunities to generate income and pay for farmers’ own labor can be limited.
</abstract>

Department of Economics of Agricultural and Agricultural Holdings

Wages for Paid Labor, Farmers’ Own Labor Payment, and Production Efficiency in the Case of Polish Farms Classified by Types of Farming

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The paper investigated the patterns of changes in spatial price transmission between pigmeat prices of two post-communist Member States, namely Lithuania and Poland, and five main producing countries in the EU-15, namely Germany, Denmark, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. This study employed vector autoregression modelling, as well as the Granger causality concept, and focused on changes in price behavior from May 2004 to May 2021. The findings suggest fundamental differences in the short-term price behavior of two post-communist countries. Over the investigated period, Poland strengthened the position in the EU pigmeat market and could be classified as a price leading country for the certain markets. The case of Lithuania demonstrated that countries with lower productivity and the dominant share of pig population on small-scale farms as well as high price level became vulnerable and evolved towards a viable national pig farming structures. Hence, a movement of new Member States towards greater market integration must be linked to the spread of innovations in pig farming or exit of uncompetitive farms. In the case of Lithuania, a promising direction of policy implications is support for the establishment of modern and competitive medium-sized farms, as well as the spread of relevant knowledge and innovations.
</abstract>

Department of Bioeconomy and System Analysis

Spatial Pigmeat Price Transmission: The Case of Lithuania and Poland

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The aim of the research is to classify the European Union (EU) countries based on the progress in the economic performance of agriculture. The originality of the paper stems from the fact that a new set of indicators (in relative form) was used to identify the clusters. The following indicators are used to assess the economic performance of the EU agricultural sector (by cluster analysis) for two periods (2015–2017 and 2018–2020): total labor force input, real income of factors in agriculture per annual work unit, total agricultural output, gross value added of the agricultural industry, and animal output. The study confirmed that EU countries, according to changes in agricultural performance, differ significantly. They were grouped into four relatively homogeneous clusters according to their similarity, with a clear geographical dispersion for both analyzed periods. Identifying development disparities between EU countries can be useful in future redesigns of the Common Agricultural Policy measures in terms of increased support to certain members.
</abstract>

PhD, Innovation Centre of the University of Niš

PhD, Prof., University of Niš, Faculty of Economics

Economic Performance of Agriculture in the European Union Countries

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The aim of the paper was to review and analyze the theory and definition of human needs, as well as the direction of work on the selection of a set of indicators characterizing the standard of living and the quality of live of the population. The study used the method of back-up data analysis (desk research). The descriptive method and the technique of examining documents and describing their content were also applied. The basic empirical material was statistical data, mainly the results of household budget surveys. The study period was 2010–2020. The study indicated that work on sets of indicators characterizing the standard of living and the quality of life, their modification and improvement depending on the changing socio-economic situation are necessary for an effective cohesion policy. There is still no single universal definition of the concept and method of measuring the standard of living and the quality of life due to difficulties in defining indicators and variables. A set of indicators was also developed by Statistics Poland. It is an open set, which can be modified and improved depending on the changing socio-economic situation. The domains which were taken into account refer to the solutions adopted within the European Statistical System, however, they are not identical. Recently, research on the standard of living and the quality of life lays greater emphasis on subjective rather than objective indicators. The standard of living and the quality of life of the population should be monitored regularly, as this will help to adopt the sets of indicators comparable at different territorial levels.
</abstract>

Degree and Scope of the Fulfillment of Needs as Indicators of Living Standard and Life Quality

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The aim of the study is to determine the scale and conditions of agricultural land leases in the case of individual farms and their impact on the area structure of farms, opportunities for the development of lease transactions, mainly between neighbors, as well as difficulties in this segment of the agricultural land market. The analysis was based on data from Statistics Poland (Polish: GUS) and the National Support Centre for Agriculture (Polish: KOWR), as well as the results of multi-year field research representative of individual farms conducted by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics National Research Institute mainly in 2011 and 2020. The analysis showed the development of the lease market, mainly neighbor-to-neighbor leases, and the increasing impact of leases on increased land equipment for individual farms. Between 2011 and 2020, the share of individual farms organized with leased land increased from 16 to 28%, and the share of leased land in the total area of land at the disposal of individual farmers grew from 15 to 20%. The number of persons who leased a larger area of land also increased. The changes were mainly a consequence of an increase (by approx. 40%) in land leased from neighbors. With depleting resources of undistributed treasury land and farmers’ attachment to patrimony, neighbor-to-neighbor leases will be the basic way to provide more land to commercial farms, and thus increase their competitiveness. For this to happen, it is necessary to overcome the main barriers hindering the growth of agricultural land mobility through the institutional regulation of the private lease market and taking actions to persuade owners of agricultural real estates who earn their living from non-agricultural sources to lease land that they do not use.
</abstract>

Department of Agricultural Economy, Agricultural Policy and Rural Development

Scale and Conditions of Agricultural Land Lease in the Case of Individual Farms

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 378 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

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Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej

 The quarterly Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics is the oldest and most representative journal in Poland dealing with agri-food economics and related disciplines. Since its beginning, it has been the main forum for presenting the key scientific and research findings, fuelling scientific disputes, forming new theories and concepts of practical solutions, conducting discussions around the methodology of scientific research. Published articles are dedicated to the fields of agricultural economics and policy, food industry and trade, rural areas development, globalization and regionalization, sustainability, environment protection, bioeconomy, climate changes, innovations and digital technologies, risk management and insurances, as well as finance and marketing.   The journal reaches out to many foreign research centres to serve as an important tool for exchange of information on current directions in research between the Polish and international readership. With contribution from leading international scholars, the journal promotes new developments in research and methods of analysis.     Preference is given to original articles that test, extend or build strong theoretical frameworks while empirically investigating the issues. All empirical methods, including, but not limited to, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed ones, are welcome.     The journal publishes full-texts of papers in Open Access. All papers are made available under the Creative Commons CC BY (Attribution) international license. The papers available on the website from 2014 are in Polish and English. Since 2016, the primary version of the journal has been the online English version. The website www.zer.waw.pl features full texts of papers published from 2009 as well as other selected archival issues.     The Publisher of the journal – Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics National Research Institute – is a member of Crossref; therefore all articles published in the journal are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Moreover, the Editorial Team uses the Crossref Similarity Check.     The journal is indexed in the following databases: Web of Science (Emerging Sources Citation Index), CABI, ERIH Plus, Agro, BazEkon, CeON, CEJSH, SIGŻ, AgEcon Search, SSRN, and ICI Journals Master List.     According to the Communication from the Minister for Education and Science dated 1 December 2021 concerning the list of scientific journals and materials from international conferences, the journal Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics scored 40 points.     There is no charge for submitting to the journal.     NOTE: Polish authors are requested to submit their manuscripts in both Polish and English.   Archiving   Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.   Plagiarism Policy   The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 