Organic pasta in Poland

Abstract

The area of agricultural land in organic farms in Poland accounted for 5.2% of organically farmed land in the EU28 in 2015 and 3.4% of total cultivated area in Poland. The Polish market for organic products is perceived as growing, although poorly functioning distribution chains are an obstacle for its development. Its characteristic feature is a significant dispersion and the mismatch between location of production and location of the market demand for organic food. There are many relatively small organic farms scattered across the country, often located in remote areas distant from the main organic food markets. Organic food consumers are located mainly in large cities, where both, the income level and the appreciation of organic food is greater. The chain of organic pasta under observation may be considered an Integrated Supply Chain co-ordinated by Babalski, President of the “Bio-Babalscy” company and at the same time an organic farmer. The chain is an example of the very successful integration process that was the outcome of a strong organizational and financial synergy. Cooperation within the chain is largely based on mutual trust and friendly relations between farmers (grain suppliers) and the processor. Farmers are suppliers of different, even ancient types of wheat (spelt, einkorn wheat, emmer wheat). In total over 400 tons of grains are being processed annually. The sales of final products totalled about 250 tons in the year 2016. About 60% of pasta and related products were sold to wholesalers and 32% to end consumers through the online shop. The remaining amount was sold directly to consumers from the farm shop (5%) and exported (3%), mainly to EU countries. As the reference, models of surveyed farms were constructed assuming the use of conventional farming methods. A conventional pasta producer was the reference for “Bio-Babalscy”. Sustainability indicators calculated for this case study show that: -the organic pasta chain appears to be more economically sustainable. All economic indicators are much higher at both the farm and processing stages of the chain.-environmental sustainability measured with the carbon footprint shows that the organic pasta chain is superior at the farm level, but the reference chain generates less greenhouse gas emissions if transportation is included in the system boundaries. The conventional pasta chain performs better for the Green Water footprint, however, Grey and Blue Water footprints are better in the organic pasta chain.- social sustainability cannot be estimated unambiguously, due to the diverse values of individual indicators. In absolute terms none of the chains can be defined as fully sustainable referring to estimated indicators. The organic pasta chain is socially slightly more sustainable according to the generational change indicator at the processing stage. There are no significant differences in values of gender equality. As for Bargaining Power the organic pasta supply chain can be considered more sustainable than the reference taking into account that power is much more evenly distributed than for the conventional chain.