Persistence, Resilience, and Economic Outcomes of CAP-Supported Organic Farms: Evidence from Poland

Organic farming in the European Union is strongly shaped by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support, yet participation durability remains less examined than supported organic area or organic–conventional comparisons. This study assesses whether the length of participation in CAP-supported organic farming is associated with the organizational, production, and economic outcomes of organic farms in Poland. It applies a two-level approach: CAP support trajectories based on ARMA data for 2008–2025 and organic production duration based on Polish FSDN data for 2008–2022. A comparative analysis was conducted of the characteristics of the potential, organization, and economic situation of farms with varying levels of persistence within the organic farming support system. The frequent variation in the results obtained indicates the distinct characteristics of these groups of farms. The results show that organic farming in Poland is highly CAP-dependent and follows an unstable trajectory, with expansion up to 2012–2013, subsequent decline, and renewed growth after 2019. Longer participation is associated with differences in land resources, supported organic UAA, ANCs conditions, production organization, and livestock presence, indicating both adaptation and structural selectivity. FSDN data show that fully organic farms have lower land and labor productivity than conventional farms, but persistent fully organic farms achieve similar income per hectare when subsidies are included; without subsidies, their income remains much weaker. The findings indicate that the evaluation of organic farming support should move beyond beneficiary counts and certified organic area to include participation durability, production-system coherence, economic viability, and territorial embeddedness. More differentiated instruments are needed to strengthen durable, knowledge-intensive, and territorially embedded organic farming systems.