Opportunities for the development of supply - side of the organic food market in Poland

Abstract

The analysis focuses on the opportunities for organic food market development. The research objective is the identification of the conditions for the development of supply in the organic farming market. To achieve the research objective, a survey concerning the opportunities for the development of organic food supply in Poland was conducted in two groups of respondents: the distributors (N=120) and the owners of organic farms (N=120). The following methods were used: statistical description, non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test and exploratory factor analysis. The results of the analysis show that factors expressing environmentally friendly consumer behaviour and preference (especially according to distributors) as well as public support under the policy of Polish institutions involved in the payment of EU subsidies (especially according to farmers) are of the highest significance. The way in which they were assessed by organic farmers indicated the need for an improved, more stable Polish system of EU subsidies. Furthermore, their rates should be higher. An important challenge for market development is to improve the links between the spheres of distribution and agricultural production. The limitations of the conducted study concerned the barriers to market development and the prices acceptable for farmers, so the authors will continue their research in these directions.