Polish entrepreneur turns family pumpkin farming into a business handling thousands of tonnes of seeds a year

Łukasz Popielewicz, a farmer and entrepreneur from Poland's Lublin region (Lubelszczyzna), has grown his family's pumpkin farming into a company that buys and processes pumpkin seeds. By his own estimate, the firm handles about half of Poland's pumpkin seed market, even though his own farm grows pumpkins on a relatively small area. The agricultural news site topagrar.pl reported on the business.

From tomatoes and herbs to pumpkins

The family farm had grown pumpkins for years, but on a much smaller scale and mainly varieties with a hard, white seed shell. Popielewicz later became interested in hull-less pumpkins, whose green seeds can be used without removing a hard outer coat. The family had previously also grown tomatoes, peppers and herbs, but labour costs and the availability of workers became a growing problem. He says pumpkins can be harvested by machine, and that economics is what decides in the end.

Working with growers

The company works with growers, supplies them with sowing material, helps organise cultivation and harvest, then buys the seeds and prepares them for sale. Last year it handled about 5,000 tonnes of seeds, and this year it aims for up to 9,000 tonnes, depending on the harvest. Farmers can know their contract price as early as January.

What a farmer can earn

Over the past five years the average spot-market seed price was around PLN 11 per kg, while in 2026 contract prices range from PLN 10 to 12 net per kg, depending on quality. In good conditions a hectare yields roughly 900 kg to one tonne of dry seeds, and on more fertile soils, such as near Hrubieszów, up to 1.5 tonnes. At one tonne per hectare and PLN 10 per kg, revenue is PLN 10,000; if costs take half, about PLN 5,000 per hectare is left to the farmer. With a 500 kg yield, the calculation changes substantially.

Drying and export

After harvest the seeds have a moisture content of 45–50%, which must be reduced to 6–8% before storage. They are then cleaned to about 99% purity. A new dryer is being built at the plant. A considerable share of the seeds is exported, while demand in Poland is also growing. Austria remains Europe's leader.