Looking from the perspective of the importance of beekeeping production for agriculture, and its impact on production sustainability, biodiversity and food security, research on food self-sufficiency in the honey market is important. The aim of this article was to assess food self-sufficiency in the honey market in Poland in terms of the sustainability of production. The research covered the years 2002–2023. The research material consisted of secondary sources of information from the FAOSTAT 2024 database, reports of the Institute of Horticulture, Department of Beekeeping in Puławy, and market reports of IERiGŻ-PIB. The research used dynamic indicators, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, self-sufficiency ratios (SSR) and intra-industry trade (IIT) indicators. The analysis showed that Poland is not food self-sufficient in honey production. Environmental issues and related food security will be important for a change in the model of beekeeping in Poland, as this sector plays an important role in maintaining sustainability and biodiversity; hence, the assessment of food self-sufficiency in honey production should be treated broadly, including the benefits for agriculture.

The topic of farms that deal with environmental constraints is an ongoing agricultural policy issue, including within the Common Agricultural Policy. We propose empirical evidence based on a sample of Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) farm households, evaluate the influence of chosen factors on financially sustainable farm development and verify less-favoured area (LFA) farms’ growth compared with non-LFA households. To specify farm households, we use the Sustainable Growth Challenge (SGC) model and DuPont decomposition based on financial measures and indicators that were adopted from corporate finance. It is concluded that the differences in SGC and revenue growth values between LFA and non-LFA farms mainly results from the system of subsidising LFA farms that receive compensation for farming in areas with adverse environmental conditions. Generally, the impact of agricultural policies on LFA and non-LFA farms is significant and may weaken the effect on LFA. With the exception of education, other sociodemographic factors do not highly influence farm efficiency. Along with improvements in the quality of human capital (e.g., higher education level), awareness of subsidies, and debt and innovative solutions increases. The interest in precision agriculture and agriculture 4.0 is also growing, which directly translates into better technological and financial efficiency of farms.

Concentration within the food industry is a desirable process in the context of improving economic efficiency, which is the basis for building sustainable competitive advantages in internationalisation and globalisation. Excessive concentration of market structures can generate negative externalities that threaten sustainability in the long term. Maintaining a balance between the freedom of economic activities and the protection of consumers and environmental interests is fundamental to the stability of the entire economy and its position in the international market, which is a priority of the EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement. The aim of this article was to assess the process of concentration of the Polish food industry and its impact on factor efficiency in the context of changing external conditions. In order to do so, the Cobb–Douglas production function was used. The research results showed that there is a progressive concentration in the food industry. Changes in the entity structure are taking place in an evolutionary way, as illustrated by the still high fragmentation of companies. Large companies make good use of economies of scale, which is mirrored in their high efficiency. The structure of the Polish food industry makes it possible to realise the objectives of agricultural policy, including in terms of sustainable development and improvement of competitiveness on the global market. Taking into account the current entity structure of the Polish food industry, it will be crucial for the long-term sustainability to take into account contemporary economic, environmental and social issues in the EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement.

This research focused on the development of small farms, which in many countries form the basis of the agricultural sector. The specifics of this type of farm, as well as the way in which they operate, influence the possibilities for these farms to realise the model of sustainable agriculture. This study considers income and the rate of reproduction of fixed assets as the main measures of farm development, which are influenced by a number of endo- and exogenous factors. The research period covered 2017–2021, and the subjects of analysis were small individual farms located in Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, and Poland. The figures for the research were taken from the FADN system database. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of endogenous agricultural factors on the development of small farms as measured by farm income and reproduction of fixed assets in four selected European Union (EU) countries, i.e., Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, and Poland. Spearman’s non-parametric rank correlation method was used to assess the impact of endogenous factors. Selected on the basis of correlation relationships, the farm development factors showed a significantly higher correlation with farm income than with the reproduction of the farm’s fixed assets. The analysis indicated that, irrespective of the location of the farm, factors significantly affecting income levels included the area of agricultural land and the number of full-time employees. Only in some countries was there a statistically significant correlation between farm income and the share of leased land, the number of full-time workers per 100 ha of UAA, the share of hired labour input, as well as the level of total farm subsidies received.

Financialisation has an increasing influence on the functioning of non-financial enterprises. It is therefore important to examine whether and to what extent food sector enterprises are subject to the process of financialisation. The research objective was to determine the level of financialisation of food industry enterprises in Poland in relation to the whole industry sector. To achieve this objective, the following research hypothesis was formulated: the process of financialisation of food industry enterprises proceeds similarly to the analogous process undergoing in industrial enterprises but varies across different sectors of the food industry. The research was conducted on the basis of statistical data from Statistics Poland (SP) published in various statistical studies. Financial data from 2010 to 2023 were analysed. For this purpose, research tools used in the paper are referred to in the literature as measures of the level of financialisation, so-called balance sheet indicators. The main limitation of the research is that the results can only be applied to countries with similar economic conditions, especially post-communist countries, and that balance sheet indicators are used to measure financialisation, which, although widely used, are limited in their effectiveness because they focus only on balance sheet data. The results support the research hypothesis. The companies in the analysed industries are characterised by a low level of financialisation. The process of financialisation of food industry companies is similar to the one in industrial companies and is more intense in beverage production than in other food industry sectors. There is room for a sustainable financing policy. The results indicate that there is room for higher financing of food industry enterprises in Poland, but excessive financing may lead to excessive concentration and monopolisation of enterprises and even to speculation on agricultural markets. To maintain financial stability, it will be important to pursue a stable monetary policy, limit the risk of food price volatility, improve communication and coordination in international monetary policy, and increase national food self-sufficiency. This study fills a research gap in understanding the process of financialisation, assessing its degree of advancement and diversity in the main sectors of food processing enterprises.