Organic farming in Poland: past, present and future perspectives.

AbstractIn this paper, the development of organic farming in Poland is presented from its original phase in the 1930s, through the period of abandonment, i.e. the outbreak of the Second World War, up until the beginning of the 1980s, when the organic farming movement was reborn. A more detailed description is devoted to the period since 1990, when for the first time inspection and certification took place. The development of formal structures is pointed out, i.e.: the establishment of organic farming associations and the inspection bodies of the Department of Organic Farming in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; the creation of a supervising office in the form of the Office of Purchase and Processing of Agricultural Products; the parliamentary acceptance of the organic farming regulation; as well as the introduction of subsidies for organic farmers. The potential of organic farming is evaluated by comparing average yields of organic crops with intensive conventional farms. The main obstacles to the dynamic development of the organic sector are identified: (1) the insufficient number of well-qualified advisers; (2) the insufficient number of veterinary doctors trained in organic farming healing methods; (3) the scarcity of applied experiments that are much expected by farmers; (4) the scarcity of biological pesticides and mineral fertilizers approved of by the organic standards; (5) the limited demand for organic products in the country; and (6) hindrances in the development of export. In the final section, the friction caused by different development tendencies in Polish farming is discussed, namely the still worsening economic situation of agriculture, and the ageing of farming machinery and buildings on the majority of farms, but also the growth in the number of intensive conventional farms. In the plans made by the government and the president, growth of the organic sector is forecast to increase from 0.2% at present to 3-5% in 2010.