Stability and Social Sustainability of Farm Household Income in Poland in 2003–2020

This article analyses the available income of farmer households in Poland in 2003–2020 in the context of their level, variability, and differentiation. The income situation of farmers was analysed from the intra-sectoral perspective and the inter-sectoral perspective by comparing the average monthly available income per capita of farmer households to the income of employees and total households. The research aimed to assess the stability of farmers’ incomes against the background of comparative groups and to assess their social sustainability. We understand farmers’ income parity relative to other socio-professional groups and a similar level of intra-sectoral differentiation. The source of empirical materials was the cyclical statistics of the Central Statistical Office prepared as part of the Household Budget Surveys, published in the years 2004–2021. It was found that despite a significant increase in the real income of farmers’ households in Poland over the studied years, the income disparity of farmers relative to other socio-occupational groups persisted. However, the income gap of farmers in relation to workers from the non-agricultural sector decreased from 35.1% in 2003 to an average of 15.7% in 2004–2020, which is largely due to the support for agriculture from the CAP funds. Compared to the analysed groups, the income of farmers’ households is characterised by the most significant instability and greater diversification. These results indicate a persistent deficit in the social sustainability of farmers’ household income in Poland.