The sustainability transition of rural areas is a must due to rapid climate changes and biodiversity loss. Given the limited resources of rural communities, policy should facilitate a just sustainability transition of the EU rural areas. The analysis of EU development policies, past performance and the envisaged scope of reform, presented in this study point to a serious inconsistency between the declaration and implementation of relevant policies. Namely, the marginal role rural areas perform in common agricultural policy and cohesion policy; a result of the lack of a complex approach to rural development. The analysis was based on the concept of good governance and took a multi-level perspective. It advocates territorial justice as an approach that should be at the core of creating a comprehensive policy for rural areas in the EU, including their diversity and empowering local communities to choose the transition pathway that is most in line with their current situation and development capacity. This analysis fills a gap in research on the evolution of the rural development policy in the EU. This research can inform the reprioritization and intensification of efforts to create equitable policies for EU rural development.

Savings are a catalyst for capital creation and are the driving force behind economic growth and development. The degree of development achieved by farms will largely depend on their ability to accumulate income and their way of spending. The aim of the article is to determine the savings-generating potential of small farms in Poland and the impact of savings on their sustainable development. In this article, firstly, the literature on savings in small farms and their role in sustainable development is synthesized. Secondly, presents empirical research that was conducted considering the economic and social characteristics of 1485 small farms to help understand saving behaviors in the chosen context. The research material consisted of data on entities participating in the Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in 2017. The factors influencing the generation of savings were identified using the logit regression model. The results of the research indicate great diversity in the scale of savings generated by small farms in Poland. Moreover, the study showed that 4 out of 21 variables characterizing small farms were significant, with a good fit of the model as evidenced by the model quality assessment measures used (coefficient R²_count and ROC curve). It was found that two variables, namely area of farmland and gross value added, each had a statistically significant positive influence on the probability of generating higher savings by small farms in Poland. On the other hand, the possession of liabilities and gross investment each had a statistically significant negative influence on the accumulation of higher savings. The research reveals some limitations that may hinder the mobilization of savings by small farms and thus affect their sustainable development. Therefore, as recommendations, we present measures that can increase savings by small farms in Poland.

The need for sustainable agricultural sector is growing rapidly due to climate changes. As there are still knowledge gaps and the need for innovations that support farmers in the sustainability transition, there is a need for determining priority research areas that are vital for the sustainable development of agriculture. The aim of our study was to derive a long-term vision of the desirable agricultural sector in Poland and prioritize research areas required to make Polish agriculture sustainable. We applied the living lab approach and, by conducting a backcasting exercise with the lab members, we identified a desirable vision of agriculture in Poland and the research areas needed to realize this vision. Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Cumulative Voting (CV), we prioritized these research areas. Our results show that adaptation to climate changes is the most important area of research, having 38.6% of the total possible number of points using AHP and 29.7% in the case of CV. The analysis of the Polish strategic documents related to agriculture and agricultural research shows that, to some extent, these key research areas are already part of the national policy, but there is not sufficient funding and coordination to tackle all aspects of sustainability in agriculture.

The income of farmers and their families is the base for consumption, savings, and investment. However, apart from its level and adequate ratios to the income of the agricultural population, its stability is also important. This very thesis is the main axis of the analysis of the income situation of Polish farmers participating in the FADN from 2004 to 2018. Its documentation is also one of the main aims of this paper. To do this from the right theoretical perspective, theinitial part of the paper presents the schemes of this income calculation and its determinants, as well as issues related to measuring income risk and the factors which affect it. Both static and dynamic approaches were used in this part of the paper. The other, thoroughly empirical and retrospective part of the paper focuses on the relationships between income and budget support, economic size, production type, and spatial location of agricultural farms. The importance of non-agricultural income was also shown, although relevant information in the FADN is not very extensive. The identification of the risk-income strategy should also be treated as a preliminary approach to the analyzed issue.

Agriculture in Poland plays an important social and environmental role. Accession to the EU resulted in structural and modernization changes, following adjustments to CAP obligations. In 2019, the European Green Deal and “From Farm to Fork” strategies called for circularity, zero emissions, and food and energy security. The purpose of this study was to assess the consumption and energy efficiency of Polish farms, identify challenges in energy management, and formulate recommendations. This study used data from Polish Statistics, FADN, and other public bodies collecting relevant data. The assessment of energy intensity was carried out based on the concept of technical efficiency by Farell and Debreu, defined as the ratio of effects to inputs. In addition, methods of comparative and descriptive statistics were used. The average annual dynamics of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions were determined using the compound percentage formula. The results of this research indicate positive changes in the energy management in Polish agriculture, including a decrease in production energy intensity, CO₂ emissions, and the amount of waste generated by the investments made. It is necessary to improve farm energy efficiency further and to increase the use of renewable energy to maintain cost competitiveness and meet environmental requirements.