Savings as a Source of Financial Energy on the Farm—What Determines the Accumulation of Savings by Agricultural Households? Model Approach

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the factors influencing the propensity of farm households to accumulate savings, which in this work are treated as a source of financial energy, taking into account socioeconomic characteristics relating to the farmer and their household, as well as farm characteristics. Classification and regression tree analysis (CRT) was used to achieve this goal. The study was conducted on a group of farms in Central Pomerania (Poland) participating in the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Data on 348 farms, obtained through a survey carried out in 2020 using a direct survey questionnaire, were used for the analyses. On the basis of the application of the classification-regression tree method, it was found that income (INC) was the key factor differentiating the studied population in terms of savings, followed by the agricultural area (AREA) and the level of education of the head of the household (EDU). It was also found that, in the case of households representing a lower income class, when the head of the household had at most secondary education and was over 34.5 years of age, having a successor (SUC) was also a factor influencing the accumulation of savings; however, the direction of this relationship was negative.