The Structural Evolution of the Agricultural Services Market in Poland

Agricultural services are an important component of the agricultural production system, as they may support farms in accessing machinery, labour, specialised knowledge, and selected technical inputs without fully internalising these resources. Despite their relevance, empirical evidence on the development of agricultural services remains limited in the Polish and broader Central and Eastern European context. The objective of this article is to assess the structural evolution of the agricultural and horticultural services market in Poland, with particular attention to the number and regional distribution of service providers, firm-size structure, farm-level use of selected services, and changes in service costs. The study is based on official statistical data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland for 2009–2024 and two survey waves conducted among farms in the Mazowieckie region in 2013 and 2024. The methodological approach combines descriptive and comparative analyses with exploratory logistic regression models. The results show that the agricultural services market in Poland has undergone clear structural changes, although the dynamics differed across service segments. Services supporting crop production expanded until 2015 and then stabilised or slightly declined, while post-harvest and livestock-related services remained relatively stable. Landscaping services recorded continuous growth, especially after 2019. The market is strongly dominated by micro-enterprises. Survey results indicate changes in the declared use, structure, and costs of selected services. However, they should be treated as supplementary regional evidence rather than a basis for causal conclusions about rural development outcomes.