The article presents the spatial differentiation of particulates emission resulting from agricultural production in Poland. Some indicators of emission have been verified and adjusted to the Polish conditions. The paper estimates PM2.5 (particulate matter, aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm) and PM10 (particulate matter, aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm) emission resulting from agricultural production and agricultural soil. The findings of the research conducted by the Institute of Ecology of Industrial Areas in Katowice in cooperation with the Institute for Chemical Processing of Coal in Zabrze were the main source of those alterations. Data concerning particular sources of emission also come from the information provided by the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw, the Bank of Local Data 2017. The estimation of PM2.5 and PM10 emission was conducted based on the structure of sources of emission resulting from agriculture contained in "EMEP/EEA Emission Inventory Guidebook" in accordance with the Tier 2 method.

The article discusses regional differences on the organic food market in the European Union based on retail sales data. The analysis was based on Eurostat, FiBL, IFOAM, USDA and literature data for 2016. Selected descriptive statistics were used. The analysis demonstrated considerable regional differences in both total and per capita retail sales of organic food on the EU market, which can be attributed to the unique characteristics of the compared countries. The absolute values of organic retail sales are influenced mainly by population and GDP. Per capita sales are strongly determined by GDP and final consumption expenditure of household. Therefore, organic retail sales were higher in countries with a higher GDP and higher household consumption per capita. Organic food sales and consumption were highest in Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Switzerland. The analysed variables were lowest in Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Estonia.

The purpose of this work is to develop a method for assessing the stability of plant development by using the fluctuating asymmetry of the optical density of plant leaves and to design a device for experimental implementation. The paper reviews existing methods and devices for estimating the fluctuating asymmetry by linear and angular dimensions, where the main disadvantages are the high labour inputs and lack of the required functions. It is shown that the optical densities of half-leaves can act as the bilateral traits, by which the stability of plant development can be assessed. The developed method allows to give a comprehensive assessment of energy and ecological compatibility of indoor plant lighting. The hardware component of the device allows to form the vectors of the radiation fluxes incident and transmitted through the leaf for each leaf half in the blue, green and red spectral bands. The experimental model of the device contains an integrating sphere with a photo resistor, measuring the irradiation of the inner surface. Control program is executed on the Arduino Uno microcontroller board based on the Microchip ATmega328P. The measured data are displayed on LCD screen (Keypad Shield) and stored in the external memory (SD card). Colour LEDs are used as the radiation source. The control program provides calibration modes, measurement of optical density and measurement of fluctuating asymmetry of the optical density in three spectral bands. The device was tested on vegetable marrow plants grown in laboratory conditions under light sources with different light quality. The differences in the optical density and fluctuating asymmetry in separate spectral bands were found to be statistically significant for plants grown under different light sources. The designed device provides wide opportunities for rapid assessment of the plant state by the pigment content in leaves. In the presence of appropriate experimental data, it is possible to find a correlation between the values of the optical density of the leaves and other biometric parameters of the plant.

The main purpose of the paper was the analysis and evaluation of the economic and natural significance as well as the functions of protected areas within three mountain ranges in Poland. These are: Carpathians, Sudetes and Swietokrzyskie Mountains, where in total there are located 182 rural and rural-urban municipalities, that characterize different shares of individual forms of nature conservation.

The innovativeness of the green economy can be considered both in relation to total innovation and eco-innovation. The aim of the research is to assess the level of innovation of enterprises operating in the green economy sectors, with particular emphasis on eco-innovation. The research was carried out in 2017, using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) technology, among 578 randomly selected enterprises of the SME sector directly related to the green economy, located in the Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship. The analyses were carried out in relation to data on innovativeness of enterprises collected by the Central Statistical Office and Eurostat data regarding the development of this sector in EU countries. The analyses show that the level of innovativeness of companies in the green economy sector in the Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodship is low and process innovations are the ones that are most often introduced which are related to the search for resource-efficient production technologies and services (eco-innovation). Authors’ research and literature review indicate that there are No universal recipes for increasing innovation and competitiveness of economies; however, the high level of innovation, including eco-innovativeness is characterized by the economies of countries that invest in research and development, human and social capital and mobilize various institutions around common purposes.

The paper revisits the traditional transport-agricultural growth nexus. Connectivity is particularly challenging for small island developing states, such as the Comoros, where domestic markets are limited and transport and transaction costs tend to be high. Using household survey data from Comoros, the paper shows that significant untapped economic potential exists in the domestic market. The analysis shows that better transport connectivity increases crop production and market sales. Accessibility to Moroni, the primary market in the country, and inter-island connectivity are of particular importance. Not only transport infrastructure, but also services are important. Access to intermediary services, such as cooperatives and collectors, is also found to have a positive impact on crop production and market sales.

Since 2007, the Cuban government has introduced a series of agricultural reforms to increase non-sugar agricultural production and reduce the country’s dependency on food and agricultural imports. The most important agricultural reforms implemented in Cuba (so far) include: (a) increases in the prices paid by the state for selected agricultural products, (b) restructuring the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) and the Ministry of the Sugar Industry (MINAZ), (c) a new agricultural tax system, (d) the authorisation of direct sales and commercialisation of selected agricultural products, (e) micro-credits extended by stateowned banks to private farmers and usufructuaries, and (f) the expansion of usufruct farming. These reforms have contributed to the redistribution of Cuba’s agricultural land from the state to the non-state sector, notable reductions in idle (non-productive) agricultural land, and mixed results in terms of agricultural output. However, they have not been able to sufficiently incentivise output and reduce the country’s high dependency on agricultural and food imports to satisfy the needs of its population. Achieving these long-desired objectives requires the implementation of more profound structural reforms in this vital sector of the Cuban economy.

Risk considerations in producer and consumer decision problems have become a subject of increased interest in agricultural economics._ Choices, implying judgments about alternative subjective probability distribution of outcomes, are common for agricultural production units. Factors affected by this aspect of the decision problem include the choice of technique and/or the adoption of new technologies. For decision makers with concave utility functions and low levels of income, the implications of uncertainty for farm decisions may be especially important. In fact, there is evidence from several empirical studies indicating that risk may have been an important factor in slowing down the adoption of Green Revolution technologies in LDC 1s [Roumasset, Anderson].