EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORT AND THE DIRECTIONS OF TRANSFORMATION IN POLISH AGRICULTURE IN 2002-2020

<ns3:p>Between 2002 and 2020, Polish agriculture underwent particularly intensive structural transformations. The purpose of this article is to examine the main directions of these changes in the context of support provided by the EU. The research focuses on changes in the agrarian structure, the transformation of agricultural production, and the technical modernization of the sector during the period encompassing the pre-accession and the first 16 years of Poland’s membership in the EU. A comparative analysis was conducted using data from three General Agricultural Censuses (in 2002, 2010, and 2020) as well as statistics from the Central Statistical Office, the Ministry of Finance, and Eurostat. The article characterizes changes in agricultural structures in Poland and analyzes the impact of EU support on agricultural income during the period under review. The directions of development of Polish agriculture, which are related to EU assumptions, are also presented. The most important results indicate a profound transformation of Polish agriculture: a 22.3% decline in the number of farms between 2002 and 2010 and a further 12.7% decline between 2010 and 2020 (due to methodological changes, a single indicator cannot be provided for the entire period), a systematic increase in the average farm area from 5.76 ha in 2002 to 11.15 ha in 2020, and the concentration of 63.4% of agricultural land in farms over 15 ha. EU support accounted for an average of 43,8% of agricultural income during the period under review. The conclusions confirm that integration with the EU was a key factor in the modernisation of Poland’s agrarian structure, leading to improved competitiveness of the sector while restructuring production in line with market and environmental requirements.</ns3:p>