Transformation of Family Farming in the Second Decade of the 21st Century

Abstract

Abstract The aim of the article is to determine the course of transformation of family farming in Poland in recent years in terms of the industrial model and challenges related to its sustainability. The results of the 2010 and 2020 agricultural censuses, other public statistics data, and the literature on the subject were used to achieve this goal. Apart from the general characteristics of the transformation, the focus was on changes in labor inputs, resource productivity, and household income of individual farm users. The analysis showed that the development of agriculture does not differ from the general model of industrial transformation, including the following processes: commercialization, intensification, concentration, and specialization. However, new challenges are emerging, especially the need for putting agriculture on a sustainable track and the demographic, environmental, and economic conditions that require significant adjustments in the transformation of agriculture. Significant intervention by political institutions is needed, especially in creating eco-innovations and conditions for the use of new income opportunities, which also requires intensifying the cooperation of farmers themselves. It is also advisable to extend the scope of agricultural advisory services, going beyond the sphere of using public funds and conventional economics of farms.