No abstract

The problem of food insecurity is generally associated with developing countries, but at the household level it also occurs in developed countries, especially in socially vulnerable groups, such as small-scale farms. However, the issue of food insecurity in developed countries, especially at the household level, is rather neglected in the scientific literature. This study was conducted to fill this gap and examine the level of food insecurity among small-scale farms in Poland. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 710 small-scale farms in Poland. The incidence and degree of food insecurity was measured with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The study found that about 43% of the respondents were exposed to food insecurity, including almost 9% to severe food insecurity, which is well above the average for the entire Polish population. By applying cross-tabulation and the zero-inflated Poisson regression model, the study found that the higher age and secondary or higher education of the farm manager, having children in the household and higher land productivity have a statistically significant negative influence on households’ food insecurity (i.e., decreased HFIAS score). On the contrary, family size of five or more and production type “permanent crops” and “dairy cows” have a statistically significant positive influence on households’ food insecurity (i.e., increased HFIAS score).

Human capital (HC) plays an important role in modern agriculture. The difference in efficiency of assets explains only about a half of the economic performance of agricultural farms, while the other half relies on HC. Although education and training are the main components of HC, it may also be viewed from the perspective of behavioral theories that were taken under consideration in this study. The role of HC in sustainable farming has not been sufficiently explained when it comes to contractual governance (CG). In this study, the meaning of contractual governance was extended and the eco-contractual governance (ECG) concept was proposed, which stands for CG induced by agri-environmental contracts. The main objective of the article is to confirm the latent concepts of HC and ECG and to verify their correlation in view of the standards imposed by the agricultural policy. To achieve this goal, a structural equation model was developed and simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal variables was carried out based on the sample of 674 small farms in Poland. The analysis has confirmed a relatively strong correlation between HC and ECG. It was revealed that training plays a crucial role in this relationship, while economic dependence on agricultural policy weakens the effectiveness of both HC and ECG.

The main aim of the article was to indicate the influence of selected determinants of Poland’s agri-food export to countries outside the European Union. Although European Union countries have been the Poland’s main trading partners for years, the share of third countries in total Polish trade has gradually been increasing. In the case of Polish agri-food trade, a different tendency is observed, as the importance of non-EU countries is decreasing. In the analysis, covering the years 2000-2016, the gravity model was used. The dependent variable was Poland’s agri-food export to third countries, while independent variables included GDP, the geographical distance between partners, differences of GDP per capita of exporter and importer, agricultural value added, the preferential trade agreement and variable describing whether a given country was a post-socialist country. Research confirmed that the masses of economies expressed in GDP attract trade between countries, while the distance between partners limits it. A positive impact on Polish agri-food exports was observed for agricultural value added and more liberal trade regulations between partners, which were a result of preferential trade agreements between the European Union and selected third countries. On the other hand, historical conditions related to the fact that the country was in the group of socialist countries with economies undergoing a transformation process since the 1990s have limited Polish agri-food exports.

Konwergencja wydajności pracy w rolnictwie a intensywność handlu rolno-żywnościowego w amerykańskich ugrupowaniach handlowych 1 Streszczenie: Głównym celem artykułu jest identyfikacja procesu konwergencji w zakresie wydajności pracy w rolnictwie w regionalnych ugrupowaniach handlowych Ameryki Północnej (NAFTA), Środkowej (CACM) i Południowej (Mercosur). Analizę przeprowadzono na tle kształtowania się intensywności wewnątrzregionalnego handlu rolno-żywnościowego tych ugrupowań. Do oszacowania dysproporcji międzyregionalnych w poziomie wydajności pracy w rolnictwie analizowanych ugrupowań wykorzystano współczynnik σ-konwergencji. Ocenę efektów zmian w przepływach handlowych w ramach poszczególnych ugrupowań oparto na wskaźnikach regionalnych współzależności, takich jak: udział handlu wewnątrzregionalnego, wskaźnik intensywności handlu wewnątrzregionalnego oraz symetryczny wskaźnik introwersji handlu. Zakres czasowy badania obejmuje lata 1980-2010. Przeprowadzone analizy dowiodły, że konwergencja wydajności pracy miała miejsce jedynie w Mercosur. Jednocześnie intensywność wewnątrzregionalnego handlu rolno-żywnościowego rosła wolniej niż handlu zewnątrzregionalnego, czemu towarzyszył wzrost udziału tego ugrupowania w handlu światowym. W pozostałych analizowanych ugrupowaniach stopniowemu wzmacnianiu regionalnego ukierunkowania handlu rolno-żywnościowego nie towarzyszyły zmiany w poziomie wskaźnika konwergencji bądź występował proces dywergencji w zakresie wydajności pracy w rolnictwie.