ASSESSMENT OF POSSIBILITIES TO COVER THE COST OF OWN WORK IN VARIOUS TYPES OF FARMS IN POLAND (Ocena mozliwosci oplaty pracy wlasnej w róznych typach gospodarstw rolnych w Polsce)

The article deals with questions connected with the possibilities to cover the cost of own work in various types of agricultural farms. The author draws attention to methodical difficulties in defining the real cost of labour in the context of agriculture's specific role in the highly developed economies and the specific character of farms obtaining incomes from both agricultural and non-agricultural production as well as assistance from public sources. The article also presents the results of research conducted on a sample of farms covered by the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), which attest to significant differences in the possibilities of farms to cover the cost of own work without endangering their development chances. Only economically strong farms are able to cover the cost of all production factors, labour included, and to ensure at least a simple reproduction.