Who is really buying land in Poland while farmers blame Ukraine

Polish farmers have been protesting against Ukrainian imports for years, but the real threat to small farms is the concentration of agricultural land in the hands of large owners and investors within Poland itself. The problem is not Ukrainian products but debts, expensive land, lack of successors in family farms, and foreign investment schemes through Polish companies.

Land prices rise while small farms disappear

Poland has about 14 million hectares of agricultural land, and the price per hectare has increased significantly in recent years. For large businesses, this is an attractive investment, but for a small farmer, buying land is becoming increasingly difficult. Some farms end up selling their land, while others work on rented plots — people continue to farm the same field but are no longer its owners.

Large farms gradually expand their holdings, while the number of small farms shrinks. The reasons include debt, high land prices, lack of successors in family farms, rising rents, and competition for land.

Foreign capital and loopholes

Polish law restricts foreign nationals from directly purchasing agricultural land. But other investment mechanisms exist — for example, through Polish companies that own real estate. Such schemes have long been attracting the attention of Polish authorities.

Land passes not only to large Polish farms: some goes to investors and companies, and some plots are purchased with the expectation of future changes in land use — especially near major cities.

Why this is not a Ukrainian problem

Land concentration in Poland was not created by Ukrainian farmers. If the state truly wants to protect Polish agriculture, it’s not enough to restrict imports or blame Ukrainian grain — it needs to look at who is buying land within Poland itself, why small farms are forced to sell their plots, and why younger generations increasingly don’t want to continue farming.

You can fight Ukrainian products for years, but if a Polish farmer loses his own farm due to debt and high land prices, the problem doesn’t go away. Ukrainian farmers may be competitors in certain markets, but they are not the cause of structural problems in Polish agriculture.

What Polish farmers really need

Small farms need more than just restrictions on competitors — they need affordable land, fair credit terms, support for young farmers, and protection against excessive concentration of ownership. Otherwise, a farmer could end up working on his own land only to discover one day that the land no longer belongs to him.