Drogi i bezdroża polskiego rolnictwa

Abstract

Polish agriculture, from the beginning of the systemic transformation in 1989, came a long way from the agriculture functioning in the system of the centrally planned economy to the modern, and still modernizing, capitalist agriculture. The land structure has been changing gradually, farms are being modernized, specialization of production and its growth have been progressing. Polish products compete successfully with other ones on foreign markets. The paper presents the development of Polish agriculture in the transformation period, as well as its situation after Poland’s accession to the European Union. It shows not only changes occurring in farming practices (including ecological agriculture, agritourist farms, new cultivation methods) as well as profitability of the agricultural activity, which was dependent on political and economic factors as well as weather conditions. There were also discussed the social problems of Polish countryside, including unemployment. A separate part was dedicated to the agrarian structure of Polish agriculture as well as the price formation of the agricultural land after 1989.