Changes in population and labour force in family farming in Poland

This paper discusses changes in population and labour in family farming in Poland. We analyse the size and socio-demographic characteristics of the farming population, the degree of utilisation of own labour resources on the farm and the assessment of labour inputs in family farming. Our research uses data from IERiGZ-PIB field studies as well as general statistics. In comparison to the European Union as a whole, the socio-demographic ( education and age) structure of the farming population in Poland is relatively favourable. There has been a significant reduction in the share of persons working exclusively on the family farm while the share of those with off-farm employment has increased. Around 500,000 persons who are not registered as unemployed and may be considered as redundant from the point of view of farming activities and represent hidden unemployment. We conclude that employment on family farms has a decreasing role in reducing the imbalance in the rural labour market in Poland.