Produkcja roślinna

A big urban centre, as an absorptive consumer market of foodstuffs, exerts an influence on the profile of the agricultural production in neighbouring areas through market mechanisms. The theoretically delimitated area of the food zone in the urban administrative province of Łódź occupies 2,381.3 thousand hectare, and encompasses eight administrative units (provinces). This area is characterized with a distinct predominance of the agricultural function, which is reflected, among others, in a high percentage share of arabie land in the overall area considerably exceeding the national average figures. The biggest part of areas under crop is utilized for grains (55 p.c.), includlng mainly rye, which is cultivated almost twice as much intensively than the national average. Production of grains predominates in the central part of Sieradz province and in the eastern part of Piotrków province. Among the remaining crops, potatoes, sugar beets, and field cultures are of the biggest consumer importance. Production of food of vegetable origin in this zone accounts for ca. 10 per cent of the overall national production. In particular kinds of crops this share amounts to: grain — 9.7 per cent, potatoes — 11.6 per cent, vegetables — 10.2 per cent, fruit — 8.2 per cent. The northern areas of the food zone boast the highest agricultural productivity and those belonging to Piotrków province — the lowest. On the basis of the available planning reports and prevailing trends of changes in the land-cultivation structure, the author performed a rough estimation of production size (Table 7), which revealed favourable prospects of full satisfaction of food demand in Łódź agglomeration in the field of products of vegetable origin.