Challenges and Opportunities for Agriculture of Central Europe According to Farm Structure and Abounding with Capital

Hungary and Poland are two applicant countries, which know the date of the admission into European Union, but the problems of the agriculture are great in both of them. The ways to the recent conditions were different, but the economic situation is similar. In Poland, mainly on the Eastern part of the country, there is a huge number of traditionally small farms operating under the economic size limit, and which are usually have not got adequate farming implements to up-to-date technologies, and their effectiveness is low. At the same time on the Western part of Poland there are Prussian type, better-mechanized, more effective large scale farms. In Hungary as a result of the economic transition the earlier large scale farms were privatised and great number of small farms came into being, which had not got any technical assets to the competitive agricultural production, and there are considerable number of private large farms mainly with "inherited" technical equipment from the earlier large scale farms. Based on these conditions the questions are: how many farms could be competitive with Western ones and how many farms have to be operated because of employment of rural people; how the efficiency of farm assets could be increased and how many investments are necessary to develop the farms to a competitive level.Farm Management,

ANALYSIS OF TENDENCIES IN AGRIBUSINESS NETWORKING COOPETITION IN POLAND AND IN THE PARTNER COUNTRIES

In the paper following the case of Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland development tendencies of SME agri-food networking organizations in the light of coopetition were presented. Supporting development of those organizations using the EU funds is to ensure sustainable development of rural areas and it is attempted to defy domination of huge food processing and distributing corporations through integration and strengthening market power of agricultural producers. It results from the analysis that important role in new the EU member countries are played by endogenous factors as institutional undergrowth and low social capital level, what deteriorates the development of SME networks in those countries. Experience of Andalusia region in Spain benchmarked to organizations in new the EU member countries can give desired effects in the scope of improvement of co-operation with public sector, product marketing and promotion and also in facing expectations of consumers for safe and healthy food in international markets

PROBLEMS OF MANAGEMENT PROCESSES OF MODERNIZATION OF DOMESTIC FARM EQUIPMENT IN A VIEW OF AVAILABLE FINANCIAL SOURCES

In the paper analysis of technical equipment modernization process of selected farms in Kujawy Pomorze Province was made with questionnaire method. Not sufficient investment funds cause that farmers first of all buy worn equipment because of lower prices. They pay for cheaper machinery mostly with own funds while combines and tractors disburse partly from bank credits and/or loans and also the EU support. Introduction VAT from second hand machinery purchase after the accession markedly stops dynamism of equipment buying. In opinion o farmers advantage from second hand equipment getting are lower exploitation costs and also technological progress agreed with trends for simplification, specialization and concentration of farming. This is appeared in purchasing tractors of higher power and universal machinery of higher capacity and quality. Farmers decisions are rational because they consider both economical situation of their farms and increasing requirements of receivers of food raw materials

Factsheets of the models

The exploration of adaptation and mitigation measures in the context of global challenges like climate change, food security and expected demographic boom is an field of research of growing importance. Over the last decades many research groups have been developing economic-trade models to analyse consequences on farm welfare, market supply and trade, some of them also address food security and other global concerns. There are many different ways to tackle these issues and the specific advantages and limitations of alternative modelling strategies are not yet well understood. The objective of the WP1 T1.1 task within TradeM theme of MACSUR is to use the results of a survey on trade and economic models of MACSUR Consortium partners to show which topics are currently addressed in the different models, which methods are used and how well these tools are prepared for an integration with other models like climate, crop and livestock models. This work was co-financed by NCBiR, Contract no. FACCE JPI/04/2012 - P100 PARTNE

MACSUR TradeM Workshop Exploring new ideas for trade and agriculture model integration for assessing the impacts of climate change on food security

The first TradeM workshop was held at Haifa University (Israel), 3-5 March 2013. It was a  state-of-the-art Workshop ‘Economic Modelling on Agriculture with Climate Change for  Food Security’. Sixteen papers are presented, following a call for abstracts submitted in  December 2012.  Presented, reviewed and discussed models, their inputs, outputs and main results of  case-study analyses let indicate of how the model can be used to analyze the  impacts of climate change on food security, how the model can contribute to, and  benefit from other economic and/or crop and livestock models and what input is  needed from CropM and LiveM . There were explored ideas for closer integration and  linkage between agriculture and economic models and between economic models at  different levels, addressing issues of model structure, scale and data processing. Focus was  on model comparison, gap analysis, scientific advancements and improvements. We also  addressed the key challenges of the economic models (macro- versus micro-economics;  uncertainty versus risks; variability and distribution), and identified ways to cope with  scaling, uncertainty, risks. The workshop let identify the requirements from CropM and  LiveM, find policy questions that MACSUR is going to address, start with the content of the  case studies and plan for publication of scientific papers.  The sessions were broadcast live via the internet. Twenty-four registered participants and  about 65 local visitors attended the workshop.This work was co-financed by NCBiR, Contract no. FACCE JPI/04/2012 - P100 PARTNE

Gestational diabetes mellitus/hyperglycaemia during pregnancy in Poland in the years 2010–2012 based on the data from the National Health Fund

Objectives: The incidence of gestational diabetes varies depending on a country and it is extremely difficult to analyse. The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of gestational diabetes in Polish population. Material and methods: Based on the data from the National Health Fund (NHF) the authors analysed reports regarding deliveries performed and then, determined the rates of gestational diabetes/hyperglycaemia during pregnancy and pregestational diabetes in Poland in the years 2010–2012. Results and conclusions: In Poland, the incidence of gestational diabetes was estimated to be 4.665% in 2010, 6.918% in 2011 and 7.489% in 2012. The incidence of pregestational diabetes was 1.067% in 2010, 1.116% in 2011 and 0.932% in 2012

Current state and circumstances of agri-environmental policies and eco-services development in Poland

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the efficiency of realized Agri-Climate-Environmental policies in view of ecosystem services development, and to point out the circumstances determining the effects of such policies. Design/Methodology/Approach: Considering the case of Poland, using implementation data from the period of validity of the Rural Development Program for 2014-2020, in terms of the Agri-Environmental-Climate Measure and selected indicators from created datasets allows the evaluation of the effectiveness of actions taken in the case of ecosystem service development. Findings: As part of the Agri-Environmental-Climate [Action]Measure, beneficiaries fulfill obligations consisting of the implementation of detailed requirements, favoring various elements of the natural environment in rural areas. The results of the analysis concerning the implementation of the measure show a significant regional variation both in terms of the number of applications and the value of the amounts paid out. The assessment of the development of ecosystem services requires the definition of specific indicators. Practical Implications: The results of the analysis may indicate improvement directions for methods and tools used for evaluating the effectiveness of Agri-Climate-Environmental policies and their programming in the case of ecosystem service development. Originality/Value: Quantitative reports presented indicators useful for the evaluation of ex-ante policy results, and expectations of policy changes in the future.peer-reviewe

The duration of pregnancy in ecologically-challenged area. The effects of environmental pollution with aromatic hydrocarbons on the angiogenesis and elements of the mesenchymal tissue of the human placenta

Introduction: The literature presents only few reports regarding the effects of elevated levels of aromatic hydrocarbons (AH) on the functions of the human placenta. The effects of environmental contamination with AH (including phenol and 1-hydroxypyrene) have certain negative effects on parenchymal organs such as human placenta. Objective: The paper aimed to assess the effects of elevated levels of AH on the placental angiogenesis and elements of the mesenchymal tissue of the placenta. Material and methods: Tissue material from 50 afterbirths from Płock constituted a study group, whereas 50 afterbirths from Kutno constituted a control group. Immunohistochemical reactions with the peroxidase method using LSAB kits (DAKO) were performed. The extent and intensity of reactions were analysed. The levels of phenols and 1-hydroxypyrene in the excreted urine of pregnant women (undergoing delivery) were detected using gas chromatography and colorimetry. Results: The levels of phenol and 1-hydroxypyrene in the excreted urine were demonstrated to be statistically significantly higher in patients living in the area of Płock. Statistically significantly higher expression of antibodies indicating placental angiogenesis was observed in the placentas in the Płock group (p < 0.01). Moreover, lower expression of vimentin indicating reactions with proteins in mesenchymal cells was observed in the Kutno group (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Pregnancy in the environment with elevated levels of aromatic hydrocarbons has detrimental effects on the human placenta. The foetus is protected by activation of adaptation and compensation mechanisms that are manifested as significant angiogenesis and greater development and differentiation of mesenchymal cells compared to the control group

ANALIZA TENDENCJI W KOOPETYCJI ORGANIZACJI SIECIOWYCH AGROBIZNESU W POLSCE I W KRAJACH PARTNERSKICH

In the paper following the case of Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland development tendencies of SME agri-food networking organizations in the light of coopetition were presented. Supporting development of those organizations using the EU funds is to ensure sustainable development of rural areas and it is attempted to defy domination of huge food processing and distributing corporations through integration and strengthening market power of agricultural producers. It results from the analysis that important role in new the EU member countries are played by endogenous factors as institutional undergrowth and low social capital level, what deteriorates the development of SME networks in those countries. Experience of Andalusia region in Spain benchmarked to organizations in new the EU member countries can give desired effects in the scope of improvement of co-operation with public sector, product marketing and promotion and also in facing expectations of consumers for safe and healthy food in international markets.W pracy na przykładzie Hiszpanii, Grecji, Bułgarii, Czech, Litwy i Polski przedstawiono tendencje rozwoju organizacji sieciowych MŚP sektora rolno-żywnościowego w świetle koopetycji. Wspieranie rozwoju tych organizacji z wykorzystaniem środków unijnych ma na celu zachowanie zrównoważonego rozwoju obszarów wiejskich i jest próbą przeciwstawienia się dominacji wielkich korporacji przetwórczo-dystrybycyjnych poprzez integrację i wzmocnienie siły rynkowej producentów rolnych. Z analizy wynika, że ważną rolę w ww. nowych krajach Unii Europejskiej odgrywają czynniki endogeniczne, jak niedorozwój instytucjonalny i niski poziom kapitału społecznego, co utrudnia rozwój sieci w tych krajach. Doświadczenia regionu Andaluzji w Hiszpanii przeszczepione poprzez benczmarking do organizacji w nowych krajach UE mogą dać pożądane rezultaty w zakresie polepszenia współpracy z sektorem publicznym, marketingu i promocji produktów oraz sprostania oczekiwaniom konsumentów zdrowej i bezpiecznej żywności na rynku międzynarodowym

Application of Markov chains approach for expecting extreme precipitation changes having impact on food supply

This work was co-financed by NCBiR, Contract no. FACCE JPI/04/2012 - P100 PARTNE