Direct Payments and Sustainable Agricultural Development—The Example of Poland

This paper aims to explore the importance of the direct-payments scheme as a tool for supporting the sustainable development of agriculture in Poland, and to assess the effects of the 2015 Common Agricultural Policy reform in this context. In particular, the study attempts to investigate the impact of different fund-allocation criteria on the regional distribution of direct payments. The research employs a simulation method in the form of variant analysis (the “what if” model)—a mathematical method with elements of statistical description, based on the complete dataset. For the purposes of one of the variants, a multi-criteria composite indicator was constructed, including stimulants and destimulants of the level of environmental sustainability of agricultural plant production. The analysis was conducted at the NUTS 2 level (voivodeships). The timeframe of the study covered the period 2010–2019. The data published by Statistics Poland and the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture were used as the source material. The analysis indicated that the 2015 Common Agricultural Policy reform redistributed public funds away from sustainable agricultural management principles. Applying some basic sustainability criteria in order to internalise environmental externalities would lead to a radical redistribution of first-pillar Common Agricultural Policy payments. The paper concludes that a real greening of the European Union’s agricultural policy is a task still to be accomplished.

The Attitude of the Regional Editors of Lithuanian Periodicals to the Principles of Distribution of State Support for the Media

It is often maintained that there is no one consistent mass media policy in Lithuania. There are, indeed, many mechanisms of state financial aid and support, and the allocation of funds itself is rather inconsistent and accidental. There is no data or information available as to how the strengths and weaknesses of the particular mechanisms created and aid/funding opportunities available are perceived by the target audience of such efforts – the staff of the editorial boards of the news outlets and the particular business owners. Having conducted a questionaire-based study and a series of in-depth structured interviews with selected typical representatives from the industry, here we delineate the perception: the editorial staff maintain that the most impactful mechanism of allocating state support for the press are direct payments, especially those distributed by the Lithuanian Media Support Foundation, though the principles regulating its decision-making should be amended so as to allow for more transparency. One should also ensure that whatever is being funded has a case for continuity, sustainability and long-term future in regard to its activities. Additionally, especially inasmuch as any allocation of funds is related to an attempt to ensure the long-term success of democratic governance, the funding is to be targeted at local news rather than national or international news. These findings are shown to be comparable to tendencies observed abroad.

An Application of the “Traffic Lights” Idea to Crop Control in Integrated Administration Control System

The aim of the paper is to discuss the idea of marking agricultural parcels in the control of direct payments to agriculture. The method of using remote sensing to monitor crops and mark them according to the idea of “traffic lights” is introduced. Classification into a given “traffic lights” color gives clear information about the status of the parcel. The image classification was done on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 datasets by calculating the NDVI and SIGMA time series in the season from autumn 2016 to autumn 2017. Two approaches are presented: semi-automated and automated classifications. Semi-automated classification based on NDVI_index and SIGMA_index. Automated classification was performed on NDVI by Spectral Angle Mapper method and on SIGMA by Artificial Neural Network (Multilayer Perceptron, MLP method). The following overall accuracy was obtained for NDVI_SAM: 70.35%, while for SIGMA_CNN it was: 62.01%. User accuracy (UA) values were adopted for traffic lights analysis, in machine learning: positive predictive value (PPV). The UA/PPV for rapeseed were in NDVI_index method: 88.1% (6,986 plots), NDVI_SAM: 85.0% (199 plots), SIGMA_index: 61.3% (4,165 plots) and in SIGMA_CNN: 88.9% (2,035 plots). In order to present the idea of “traffic lights”, a website was prepared using data from the NDVI_index method, which is a trade-off between the number of plots and UA/PPV accuracy.

Modelling the Common Agricultural Policy Impact over the EU Agricultural and Rural Environment through a Machine Learning Predictive Framework

This research provides an analytical and predictive framework, based on state-of-the-art machine-learning (ML) algorithms (random forest (RF) and generalized additive models (GAM)), that can be used to assess and improve the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) impact/performance over the agricultural and rural environments, easing the identification of proper instruments that can be used by EU policy makers in CAP’s financial management. The applied methodology consists of elaborating a custom-developed analytical framework based on a dataset containing 22 relevant indicators, considering four main dimensions that describe the intricacies of the EU agricultural and rural environment, in the CAP context: rural, emissions, macroeconomic, and financial. The results highlight that an increase of the agricultural research and development funding, as well as the agriculture employment rate, negatively influence the degree of rural poverty. The rural GDP per capita is influenced by the size of the employment rate in agriculture. It seems that environmental sustainability, identified by both fertilizers used and emissions from agriculture parameters, significantly influences the GDP per capita. In predicting emissions in agriculture, the direct payment, degree of rural poverty, fertilizer use, employment in agriculture, and agriculture labor productivity are the main independent parameters with the highest future importance. It was found that when predicting direct payments, the rural employment rate, employment in agriculture, and gross value added must be considered the most. The agricultural, entrepreneurial income prediction is mainly influenced by the total factor productivity, while agricultural research and development investments depend on gross value added, direct payments, and gross value added in the agricultural sector. Future research, related to prediction models based on CAP indicators, should also consider the marketing dimension. It is recommended for direct payments to be used to invest in upgrading the fertilizers technologies, since environmental sustainability will influence economic growth.

ANALYSIS OF MEASURES OF PROPERTY SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES IN THE REGION

Under the conditions of the pandemic, the issue of support for small and medium-sized enterprises becomes especially relevant, since they are the ones that suffer financial losses more than other enterprises in the period of restrictions and reduction of the purchasing power of citizens. Most often tax measures of support and direct payments from the state are considered, in our article we will talk about property measures that have a significant impact on the stabilization and development for existing entities and sustainable formation for start-up entrepreneurs. The article uses both statistical analysis, including within the boundaries of the federal district, and sociological research that complements and specifies statistical data. As a result, the main problems of providing measures of property support were identified, which will allow the authorities and development institutions to adjust their policies and instruments.

“Paradoxical” Dissatisfaction among Post-Socialist Farmers with the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy: A Study of Farmers’ Subjectivities in Rural Poland

Farmers in post-socialist Central and Eastern Europe are the major beneficiaries of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), at least in monetary terms. Why, then, are they dissatisfied with the CAP? This study aims to understand farmers’ subjectivities (i.e., judgments shaped by personal opinions and feelings) regarding CAP and compares these subjectivities to the actual impact of CAP in rural areas. It is based on empirical research in the Błaszki commune in central Poland, where the farmers’ movement Agrounia originated. The study has found that in addition to its benefits, CAP created a number of new problems, such as socio-economic differentiation and related tensions in rural communities, misuse of the CAP’s direct payments, disappearance of rural (peasant) lifestyle, and environmental degradation. The empirical material has also revealed the fragile position of Polish farmers in the domestic market, which affects their dignity and self-esteem. Agrounia seeks to address the latter issue, yet it faces the problems of farmer mobilization and negative representation in the media. This article contributes to the discussions about the applicability of CAP in the post-socialist context, the impact of farmers’ subjectivities on their practices, and the farmers’ mobilization and social movements in post-socialist countries.

Agriculture Subsidies: Unravelling the Linkages between the Amber Box and the Blue Box Support

Domestic support disciplines under the Agreement on Agriculture are controversial, to say the least. The aggregate measurement of support (AMS) restricts Members’ policy space to provide product-specific support. The structural flaws in the determination of AMS further compel Members to explore alternatives. In contrast to the Amber Box, the Blue Box offers certain flexibilities for Members to exempt product-specific support from AMS calculation. The Blue Box reflects several elements which are seemingly typical to the Amber Box, except that it has certain production-limiting features. This article explores the legal bounds of the Blue Box measures, and its similarities and dissimilarities with the Amber Box. Towards this end, the article builds on a fresh legal understanding of the Blue Box based on its negotiating history and interpretative bounds, and also offers a fuller appreciation of market price support (MPS) and non-exempt direct payments under the Amber Box. While the calculation methodology for non-exempt direct payments bears a close resemblance to the calculation of MPS, the article argues that direct payment and MPS measures are fundamentally distinct types of product-specific support which makes the interchangeability of Blue and Amber Boxes seemingly difficult.

CAP post 2022 scenarios and income impacts – a case analysis for selected typical farms in Slovenia

Assessment based on representative farms is an established approach in the modern assessment of the effects of changes in agricultural policy. In line with previous CAP reforms, we can expect income redistribution impacts also with the implementation of the legislative and financial framework of the CAP for the next period. This paper discusses a scenario analysis using the farm model. The model is based on linear programming, which enables to address various technological challenges at farm level. We formed the scenarios for the analysis following the example of the scenarios contained in the impact assessment that the European Commission prepared for the CAP after 2020. The analysis involves selected farm types from selected sectors. The results suggest that the expected reduction in the envelope will generally lead to lower farm-level revenues from CAP direct payments. Consequently, economic performance will deteriorate, what is likely to be amplified in some sectors by the abolition of historical payments. The range of consequences at farm level will likely be considerable, especially for sectors and production types with a high share of CAP payments in the structure of total farm income. In certain sectors, however, there is even an improvement regarding the current situation.

Zakah Collection and Distribution Management: A Case Study of MAIDAM in Terengganu

Zakah is one of the systems to promote wealth-sharing among the Muslims in assuring a minimum standard of living for them. The problems associated with the distribution of zakah and poverty are damaging the performance and achievement of the zakah institution itself. The statistics on the distribution of zakah shows that the poor and extreme poor in Terengganu has been increased over the last few years. In addition, there are people who pay zakah directly to the asnaf while such payments of zakah are not being recorded. Thus, an efficient management for zakah in terms of collection and distribution can contribute to the achievement of the utmost objective of zakah. This qualitative mode of study investigates the activities of zakah collection and distribution that are being practiced by MAIDAM. This study uses the semi-structured interviews to collect the primary data. The study interviews the staff from the Majlis Agama Islam Dan Adat Melayu (Islamic Religious Council and Malay Customs), known as MAIDAM, whereby several issues have been asked and discussed to achieve the objectives. MAIDAM is the only organization that collects and distributes zakah in Terengganu. The study finds that MAIDAM has been using several channels for the zakah payers to make direct payments to MAIDAM. Besides, MAIDAM has collaborations with other organizations to distribute the funds effectively. The study posits that zakah is to be distributed in sustainable modes such as in a form of small financing for needy SMEs to achieve the objective of eradicating poverty line and minimizing income inequality.