Small farms facing the challenges of sustainability and the Green Deal

New solutions within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are the key regulations determining directions of rural areas development, including the agricultural sec-tor. In solving environmental problems, the direction of agricultural development is particularly important. The European Commission (EC) communication of May 20, 2020 sets the EU framework for the impact on the economy of member states as a whole, including agriculture. It states that a healthier and more sustainable system of food production in the EU will be the foundation of the Green Deal, which will also determine the direction of changes in the Polish agriculture. There is a strong feedback loop between the natural environment and the agricultural activity. On the one hand, natural conditions, in particular soil quality, water relations and climatic conditions, significantly influence the production potential of agriculture; on the other hand, it is the agricultural sector that influences the condition of the natural environment. The basis of sustainable development is rational management of natural resources. "The idea of sustainable development basically boils down to preserving the environment and natural resources for future generations". The aim of this work is to identify, analyze and evaluate the role of Polish small farms in shaping sustainable development on the basis of their farming practices and production and economic results in the period of time 2015-2019 on the basis of Polish FADN data (Farm Accountancy Data Network). The analysis of the issue allowed concluding that small farms are entities whose role in shaping sustainable development is not unambiguous. In small farms, compared to medium and large farms, it is possible to indicate very beneficial practices for the environment. On the other hand, there are also activities that contradict the principle of sustainable development. The statistical analysis used allowed, for a comprehensive assessment of the resource and production diversity and the economic situation in the studied groups of farms in the context of sustainable development, the key principle of the Green Deal. On the basis of the multi-criteria analysis by the statistical method, it was found that the results concerning the assessment of the role of small farms in the formation of sustainable development depend on the way they are grouped, as well as on the prioritization of the factors that make up this assessment. The results of the research indicate that small farms with an economic size of less than 25 thousand euros are the entities whose role in shaping sustainable development is the most important. The perception of small farms as the most environmentally friendly will contribute to alleviating the critical opinion on the agrarian structure in Poland due to its fragmentation.