The aim of the article is to present the business cycle in Polish agriculture from the Austrian school of economics perspective. According to the Austrian business cycle theory, the main cause of business cycle is an expansionary monetary policy. It leads to lengthening the production structure in the growth phase. The largest growth is observed in sectors situated far away from the consumer. However, in the recession phase these sectors face the biggest downswings. The agriculture is relatively prone to fluctuations of production. A study carried out for the Polish economy in years 1999–2013 showed that the fluctuations of global and final agriculture output was larger than the food production, but smaller than the industry production.

The aim of the study was to assess the economic and production-related situation of Polish agriculture during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis covered the years 2015-2021, i.e. in addition to the years of the pandemic’s occurrence in Poland (2020-2021), the research period included 5 earlier years, in order to identify possible changes during the pandemic. In order to attain the objective, the data from the Economic Accounts for Agriculture – EAA, published by Eurostat, was used. A library query and secondary data from the Eurostat database were employed. Over the years 2015-2021, the value and quantity of agricultural production in Poland increased. In the first year of the pandemic, the value of production increased nominally by 13.7%, and by 8% in real terms. This growth mainly stemmed from the increase in the volume of plant production. The second year of the pandemic brought a slight decrease in the production volume – by 0.8%. It resulted primarily from yield deterioration. The time of the pandemic was characterized by considerable changes in agricultural income. Unfavourable price changes in 2021, related to a large increase in costs, caused the income from agriculture rise in the first year of the pandemic, but over the second year of COVID-19, the income situation deteriorated significantly. Worse farming conditions related mainly to an increase in the cost of loans and the prices of production means may have a significant impact on the food security of the Polish society.

The main purpose of this article is to present a critical point of view towards the application of the public goods concept to land and agriculture. The basic legal regulations forming the agricultural system in Poland and the assessment of the legitimacy of state interventions on the land market in the light of the theory of the Austrian school of economics are discussed. According to the criteria used in the theory of public goods, agricultural land is a typical private good. On the other hand, the issue of goods integrally connected with land such as agricultural landscape and quality of the natural environment is debatable. The following arguments are against the state intervention: the lack of the possibility to objectively identify social needs, the political and redistributive nature of state intervention, the existence of market mechanisms for financing public goods.

Kategoria dóbr publicznych jest jednym z fundamentalnych elementów koncepcji zawodności rynku i jednocześnie jednym z argumentów uzasadniających interwencję ze strony państwa. Zwolennicy tego podejścia podkreślają specyfikę ziemi i jej duże znaczenie w kształtowaniu zrównoważonego rozwoju gospodarczego. Celem artykułu jest przedstawianie krytycznego stanowiska wobec koncepcji ziemi rolniczej jako dobra publicznego. Przyjęto założenie, że teoria dóbr publicznych jako naukowe uzasadnienie interwencjonizmu państwowego w rolnictwie, w tym również na rynku ziemi rolniczej, ma dużo bardziej polemiczny charakter, niż jest to przedstawiane w głównym nurcie badań. Jako alternatywne podejście do badania kwestii ziemi rolniczej zaprezentowane zostało stanowisko austriackiej szkoły ekonomii. Praca ma charakter teoretyczny. W analizie wykorzystano wnioskowanie dedukcyjne i logikę w postaci werbalnej. Przeprowadzona analiza problemu wskazała, że według kryteriów stosowanych w teorii dóbr publicznych ziemia rolnicza jest typowym dobrem prywatnym. Dyskusyjna jest natomiast kwestia takich dóbr integralnie z ziemią związanych, jak krajobraz rolniczy i jakość środowiska naturalnego. Jednak specyfika tych dóbr nie musi prowadzić do wniosku, że interwencja państwa jest konieczna. Przeciwko interwencji państwa przemawiają takie względy, jak: brak możliwości obiektywnej identyfikacji potrzeb społecznych, polityczny i redystrybucyjny charakter interwencjonizmu państwowego, istnienie rynkowych mechanizmów finansowania dóbr publicznych.

The aim of the article is the economic evaluation of the effects of food safety policy in the light of the Austrian school of economics theories. Food safety policy imposes stringent requirements for food production and consumption, what deprives the food of natural character. This kind of policy ignores the diversified consumers needs. Sanitary, veterinary and technical requirements limit the possibilities of the food production by fragmented farms. The function of food producers takes concentrated food industry. The transfer of added value from agriculture to industry and commerce occurs.