Multi-Annual Programme: "Competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalization and European integration"

The Multi-Annual Programme "Competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalization and European integration" was implemented by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI) on the basis of the resolution of the Council of Ministers of February 2011. The main objective of the Programme, i.e. the analysis and assessment of the competitiveness of the Polish food economy, was achieved through the implementation of the following detailed objectives: assessment of the development conditions and challenges for the agri-food sector in Poland at the background of the global trends, assessment and monitoring of agri-food markets under changing economic conditions, assessment of the effects of selected instruments of Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development Policy, assessment of the competitiveness of sustainable agriculture, assessment of the changes in the socio-economic structure of rural areas as a competitive factor of rural areas, assessment of the competitiveness of the Polish agricultural holdings and agricultural products in a mid--term perspective, application of economic modelling in the analysis of the premises of competitive development of the agri-food sector. The research programme "Competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalization and European integration" was composed of 8 topics divided into 26 tasks, which covered basic issues from the field of socio-economic development of agriculture, food economy and rural areas. These included:

1. Assessment of the development conditions and challenges for the agri-food sector in Poland at the background of the global trends

• Economic growth indicators in agriculture.
• Seeking for new production balance in Poland at the background of the global trends.
• Factors shaping the competitiveness of agriculture.
• Strategies and directions of the European agriculture development.

2. Monitoring of agri-food markets under changing economic conditions

• Monitoring and assessment of changes on global agricultural markets.
• Current assessments of the main agri-food markets in Poland at the background of the EU.
• Monitoring of the state of competitiveness of Polish food producers.
• Processes adjusting the Polish food industry to the changing market environment.

3. Analysis of the effects of selected instruments of Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development Policy

• Analysis and assessment of CAP instruments influencing the production decisions of farmers.
• Analysis and assessment of structural and regional policy instruments influencing the development of entrepreneurship on rural areas.
• Variant analysis of the impact of CAP instruments on the changes in agriculture and rural areas.

4. Competitiveness of sustainable agriculture

• Alternative forms of agriculture in the development strategy of agri-food sector and rural areas.
• Productivity of different forms of sustainable agriculture.
• Sustainable agriculture versus safe food and health.

5. Budget grounds for improvement of the competitiveness of the Polish agriculture

• National and the EU "rural budget" versus finance and functioning of the Polish agriculture and the national economy.
• Direct payments and budget subsidies versus finance and functioning of holdings and agricultural enterprises.
• Social insurance and taxation in agriculture - conditions and proposals of reform.

6. Changes in the socio-economic structure of rural areas as a competitive factor of rural areas

• Human capital in the structural transformation process of rural areas and agriculture.
• Impact of institutions on increasing the investment attractiveness of rural areas.
• Agricultural land market.

7. Competitiveness of Polish agricultural holdings and agricultural products at present and in a mid-term perspective

• The possibility of improving the effectiveness of functioning of individual groups of Polish agricultural holdings at the background of analogous achievements of groups of holdings from selected EU countries.
• The development possibilities of different groups of agricultural holdings and their competitive skills in a mid-term perspective.
• Economic surpluses of selected agricultural products, their current analysis and assessment of the scale and scope of the changes expected in a mid-term perspective.

8. Application of economic modelling in the analysis of the premises of competitive development of the agri-food sector

• The forecasting system aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector.
• Equilibrium of the growth of the national agri-food sector and its competitiveness in the EU and global dimensions.
• Clusters mapping in the agri-food sector for the purpose of modelling their development.

Research and analyses held under the Multi-Annual Programme 2011-2014 “Competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalization and European integration” ended in 2014. Their results were published as 132 publications in Polish and 48 in English. All Multi-Annual Programme publications are available under open access in PDF format on the Institute’s website.

http://ierigz.waw.pl./publikacje/raporty-programu-wieloletniego-2011-2014