Intra-sectoral income inequalities between farms in Poland in the 2004–2017 period

Abstract

The article analyses the disposable income differentiation between agricultural households and the income differentiation between family farms in Poland in the 2004–2017 period. The objective of the studies was to establish the scale of the income inequalities within the farming sector and determine how they changed over time. It was also to assess the impact of state budge subsidies for farmers on the level of income inequalities between them. The differentiation of the income of family farms was analysed by farm type and by farm economic size. The empirical materials used in the study comprised of the statistics from the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Eurostat, data from the FADN farming accounting system and data of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Income inequalities in agriculture were demonstrated to have displayed a growth tendency in the post-accession period. However, the differentiation of household income was substantially higher for income without any direct grants or other subsidies than for subsidised income. The financial transfers under the Common Agricultural Policy increased the income of farms in Poland but also contributed to its differentiation. The budgetary expenditures on farmers did not reduce the progressing income polarisation of farms but they inhibited the process. Successful management of income inequalities in farming through fiscal instruments requires subsidies that are ‘detached’ not only from the scale of production but also from the economic size and surface area of the farm.