The Need to Account for Investment Spending in the Estimation of Changes in Farmers’ Household Savings

The main objective of this article is to estimate the potential disposable savings of farmers’ households in Poland, taking into account investment expenditures, and to compare their changes against the background of employee households and households in general. The analysis is based on data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) household budget surveys and the FADN agricultural accounting system. On average, the disposable savings of farmers’ households are lower than those resulting from a standard calculation based on subtracting expenditure on consumer goods and services from disposable income. This outcome is due to the role of investments as well as the balance of long-term liabilities. Consequently, the average level of disposable savings for consumption per capita among members of farmers’ households was generally lower during the analysed period (2013-2023) compared to households in general and to employee households (except in 2017 and 2023). There is a need for CSO surveys at the farm budget level to distinguish, in the case of farmers’ households, expenditure on farm investment purposes. Such a distinction would significantly improve the comparability of the economic situation of these households relative to others.