But international evidence indicates that such large, mechanized farms are generally less efficient and use less labor than small family farms. So, van Zyl, Miller, and Parker analyzed the relationship between farm size and efficiency in Polish agriculture. They used two different methods to do so. First, they determined differences in total factor productivity between small and large farms. Then they used Data Envelope Analysis to estimate scale efficiencies.
Smaller farms are more labor-intensive than larger farms.
These results have important policy implications for farm restructuring in Poland and other transition economies facing similar issues and conditions. The full report is available on our FTP server.