Analysis of Selected Indicators that Are Useful in Assessing Farming Conditions in Agriculture on Example of Masovian Voivodeship

Abstract

The aim of this research was to analyze selected indicators that may be useful in assessing the farming conditions of agriculture in municipalities as well as assessing the agricultural production spaces. The indicators that were selected for analysis were considered in the literature to be among the most important indicators that allowed for the assessment of the above-mentioned conditions, these were the agricultural production space valorization index (WWRPP), the soil valuation index (WBG), the forest cover index, the number of tractors per 100 ha of agricultural land, the numbers of farm animals in large head index (PL) per 100 ha of agricultural land, and the share of the agricultural farms that owned land in ten or more plots in their total areas. The study of the distribution values of the above-mentioned indicators covered municipalities that are located in Masovian Voivodeship. The obtained research results showed in which municipalities there were barriers to the development of agriculture – in which municipalities there were large forest covers, soils of poor quality, low levels of mechanization, and high fragmentations of land. The identified strengths and weaknesses in terms of farming conditions in agriculture can be used, for example, by local authorities. The selected set of indicators is an open set and can be expanded with further indicators; with the selection of an appropriate methodology, it can be used to assess the farming conditions in the agricultural areas of the individual municipalities.