IMPORTANCE AND CONTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURE TO THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF POLAND BEFORE AND AFTER ITS ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (1994-2016)

The article attempts to determine the importance and share of the agricultural sector in creating thenational economy in Poland. The survey covered the years 1994-2016 and was carried out from the perspectiveof two subperiods: pre-accession (1994-2003) and post-accession (2004-2016). To achieve the goal, the shapingof the share of agriculture in the creation of global production and gross domestic product is presented anddiscussed. The development of the share of investment outlays and the value of assets involved in theagricultural sector and the percentage of people employed in agriculture in relation to employment in all sectorsof the economy was also examined. The data used in the work came from the Central Statistical Office. Toachieve the intended research goal, among others dynamic indexes, which were used to compare the phenomenain question over time and average annual values of particular parameters, calculated using the arithmetic mean.Based on the conducted research, a gradual decline in the share of the agricultural sector in creating value in thenational economy was observed, consistent with the global tendency for developing countries