The Impact of European Integration on Field of Agriculture în Poland

Chapter 1

On 1 May 2004 Poland acceded to the European Union (EU).

Fifteen years of efforts preceded by the systemic transformation of 1989 came to an end. During this time, Poland was obliged to pass all required stages of the accession procedure initiated by the submission of the membership application in April 1994.

Membership conditions were defined during the accession negotiations, which were opened in March 1998. The negotiations were ultimately finalized with the signing of the Treaty of Accession in April 2003.

At the same time Poland engaged in extensive harmonization in order to fulfill membership criteria. The historic decision in favour of Poland’s accession to the EU expressed by the society in the accession referendum on 7–8 June 2003 sealed the decision of the Polish authorities. Poland acceded to the EU together with 9 other countries, mostly from the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The accession of Bulgaria and Romania on the 1 January 2007 completed the enlargement of 2004.

Despite the long-lasting preparations on the part of the government and the state administration, undertakings and the society, Poland’s accession to the European Union was in many respects a step into unknown territory. It was difficult to foresee what the arduously negotiated conditions of Poland’s membership in the European Union might bring in practice. Many – and frequently contradictory- forecasts were formulated before 2004 regarding the expected impact of the EU on distinct spheres of economic and social life in Poland. Five years later, many doubts have been dispelled. Forecasts formulated during the accession have been verified by daily reality.

Chapter 2

The agriculture field in Poland can be noticed due to the fact that Poland agriculture has improved since the communism era and Polish agricultural products, however, are distinguished as high quality regarding parameters related to human health due to clean environment, unique methods of production and, relatively low use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides during the production process.

Poland is very much a country grounded in agriculture and forestry. More than 60% of Poland's total area is taken up by farming.

The most important crops are grains, of which the highest yields came from rye, wheat, barley, and oats. Other major crops are potatoes, sugar beets, fodder crops, flax, hops, tobacco, and fruits. In most areas, soil and climatic conditions favour a mixed type of farming. Farms all over Poland raise dairy cows, beef cattle, pigs, poultry, and cultivate fruit, often on a very small scale on each farm.

Poland is currently the largest producer of potatoes and rye in Europe and and is one of the world's largest producers of sugarbeet.

Agriculture employs almost 1/3 of the total Polish work force but contributes less than 4% to the gross domestic product (GDP). Productivity is on the whole not high.

There are over 2 million private farms in Poland. Most of which are small - 8 hectares (ha) on average. These farms are often made up of seperate pieces of land spead over some area. Over half of all farming households in Poland produce only for their own needs with little, if any, commercial sales.