Produktywność i towarowość rolnictwa w Polsce

Studies of the spatial aspect of productivity and commercialization of Polish agriculture go back quite far in time. In the period 1971–1990 the Institute of Geography of the Polish Academy of Sciences co-ordinated the research conducted in the framework of the national research programmes, and brought about numerous publications in which the productive features of farming in Poland were analyzed. (R. Szczęsny 1975, 1992, R. Kulikowski, J. Szyrmer 1978, J. Szyrmer 1976, 1977, 1980, R. Kulikowski 1977, 1977b, 1980, 1982, 2002, 2003). In the first part of the paper one can find the analysis of land and labour productivity. High levels of land productivity (value of gross agricultural production per 1 hectare of agricultural land) were observed in Greater Poland and Cuiavia featuring average or advantageous soil conditions and high farming culture (high share of population with more than primary education, employed in agriculture). Low levels of this indicator were noted in northern and western Poland. High levels of labour productivity (value of gross agricultural production per 1 person employed in agriculture) were associated mainly with a large size of farms and were observed in western and northern Poland. The subsequent part of the paper is devoted to the problems of degree and level of commercial production of agriculture. The studies of degree of commercialisation of agriculture (% share of commercial production in gross production value) shows its differentiation across the country since the year 1970. In the year 2009 the average degree of commercialization of Polish agriculture amounted to 70,5% and its indicators varied from about 74–76% in the northern voivodships, with larger farm acreage, to less than 60% in the south-east. The value of commercial production of agriculture per 1 hectare of agricultural land is referred to as the level of commercialization. The spatial differentiation of this indicator of Polish agriculture was illustrated for the years 1970 and 2002.