Managing Agricultural Enterprises

Exploring Profitability and Best Practice in Central Europe

Paweł Bryła

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9783319598901
• eBook ISBN:
  9783319598918
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Estrategia empresarial

Exploring the competitiveness and profitability of the agricultural sector in Central Europe, this book argues that the successful management of agricultural enterprises is inconceivable without the knowledge and application of modern forms of management and technology. Organised in an analytical framework and offering comprehensive empirical data, this book focusses on the countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The contributors identify good practices, unresolved problems, and factors influencing profitability. Topics explored include the challenges of increasing sales potential, competitiveness, partnerships and cooperation, human resources issues, and risk management. By constituting a valuable source of knowledge, Managing Agricultural Enterprises is important to those researching the agricultural industry and management, but also to policy-makers and managers of agricultural enterprises.

Part IManagerial Issues in Agricultural Enterprises in Poland

© The Author(s) 2018

Paweł Bryła (ed.)Managing Agricultural Enterpriseshttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59891-8_1

Begin Abstract

1. Agricultural Enterprises in Poland

Paweł Bryła¹

(1)

Department of International Marketing and Retailing, University of Łódź, Lodz, Poland

Paweł Bryła

is an assistant professor at the Department of International Marketing and Retailing, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz, Poland. He graduated from the international studies program at the University of Lodz and earned an MA in European political and administrative studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. In 2004, he was a trainee at the Directorate-General for Agriculture of the European Commission in Brussels. For eight years, he was responsible for managing the Erasmus programme at his faculty. He obtained his PhD in management in 2005 and the degree of habilitation in 2016. His research interests include origin and organic food marketing, the role of health claims in food marketing and consumption, and international student mobility. He has led several research projects at the national level and coordinated Polish teams in international research projects. He has published three monographs in the field of food marketing and more than 60 articles in leading national and international journals, including Appetite, British Food Journal, Problemy Ekorozwoju, and Academy of Management Learning and Education. He was awarded a scholarship for outstanding young researchers by the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education and he received an award from the Polish Academy of Sciences as well as several Rector’s Prizes.

End Abstract

We have conducted both quantitative and qualitative research for the purpose of this study. It is based on the analysis of both secondary and primary sources. The secondary sources include:

• statistical data, in particular obtained from the Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) , the Polish Central Statistical Office , and the European Commission
• thematic reports published by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics in Warsaw
• the author’s own publications, based on previous empirical studies
• other publications, in particular from Polish academic journals specialising in the management of agricultural enterprises/farms, such as: Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, Zagadnienia Doradztwa Rolniczego, Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW – Ekonomika i Organizacja Gospodarki Żywnościowej, and Roczniki Naukowe SERiA

The primary sources concern information obtained during two in-depth individual face-to-face interviews ; one interview conducted with the use of the CATI methodology (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview ) and two interviews conducted with the use of the CAWI methodology (Computer Assisted Web Interview). The interviews were conducted from May 2015 to September 2015. They lasted 35 minutes on average. The sample was constructed with a view of having a representation of agricultural enterprises of various sizes and operating in diverse sectors. Our respondents’ production profile was as follows:

• one producer group specialising in cereal production
• one farmer specialising in milk production
• one farmer specialising in pig production
• two farmers with a multidirectional farm (one combining the production of cereals , potatoes , milk and pigs , and another one combining the production of milk , cattle and pigs )

Regarding the number of employees, the agricultural enterprises under study were predominantly small, which reflected the situation in Polish agriculture. In four cases, this number ranged from two to four, and it was 15 in the case of the producer group.

1.1 Agricultural Enterprises in the Country’s Economy

The gross value added of the agricultural sector as a percentage of GDP amounted to 2.4% in Poland in 2012, which was double the EU-27 average. The employment in the agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing sectors as the share in employed civilian working population was 12.6% compared to 5.2% in the EU-27 (European Commission 2013). In 2010, the gross value added in agriculture, hunting and fishing was 3.5% in Poland, twice as much as the EU-27 average (1.7%). In 2013, the share of agriculture in total employment amounted to 12%, whereas it was 5.1% in the EU-28 (European Commission 2015). The agricultural employment in Poland declines over time. For example, in 2000, it amounted to 19.2% of the total employment (Bryła 2004: 111).

In 2013, there were 1,429,006 farms in Poland, including 1,425,386 private (family) farms . Their structure by area of agricultural land was as follows:

• up to 1 hectare (ha) = 2.4%
• 1–2 ha = 19.4%
• 2–5 ha = 31.9%
• 5–10 ha = 22.1%
• 10–15 ha = 9.9%
• 15–20 ha = 4.9%
• 20–50 ha = 7.2%
• 50 ha and more = 2.2%
  (Central Statistical Office of Poland 2015: 113)

The number of farms declined from 2,733,400 in 2005 to 1,409,600 in 2015 (Fig. 1.1). The area structure of farms in 2015 is shown in Fig. 1.2. The area structure continues to be very fragmented in spite of some recent consolidation processes. It is a legacy of the history—as an exception, Polish agriculture was not collectivized during communist times. Furthermore, the biggest private holdings were divided into smaller plots after World War II. Following the introduction of the market economy in 1989, the phenomenon of overt unemployment emerged, which prevented many farmers from leaving their farms. Considerable inefficiencies ensued due to the unfavourable area structure and the consequent so-called covert unemployment in Polish agriculture (too many people staying on the farm). The EU system of granting high direct paymen...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• Part I. Managerial Issues in Agricultural Enterprises in Poland
• Part II. Managerial Issues in Agricultural Enterprises in the Czech Republic
• Part III. Managerial Issues in Agricultural Enterprises in Hungary
• Part IV. Managerial Issues in Agricultural Enterprises in Central Europe: A Synthesis of Country Studies
• Erratum to: Managing Agricultural Enterprises
• Back Matter