Vom Kleinbauern zum Agrarwirt

Daria Al-Shaher Arzberger
2008 unpublished
This paper deals with the challenges and difficulties of the agricultural sector in Poland and its process of integration within the increasing globalisation. Political and economic questions are discussed, social and cultural problems and barriers for Polish farmers are described. The term "globalisation" is explained and various theoretical approaches and theses of Wallerstein, Beck, Giddens and Rosamond are compared in order to show a connection between globalisation and integration. Poland
more » ... s characterized by its rural background. Regions – formerly dominated by state-owned collective farms – are nowadays characterized by a high unemployment rate and are regarded as the economically poorest regions in Poland, whereas the employment and economic circumstances are much better diversified in regions with the tradition of small, private-owned farms. The current situation of Polish agriculture is the result of the agricultural policy before 1990, the economical reform at the beginning of the 1990ies and the process of integration. Today Polish agriculture is influenced by a structure built of smallholdings and suffers from income losses due to low prices for agricultural products on the world market and from the loss of the Eastern countries as export market. Other important social problems are poorly developed infrastructure and high unemployment rates in the rural areas. Poland puts great expectations in rural development policy of the Common Agricultural Policy. Good prospects are predicted for the development of the smallholdings and the rural infrastructure. Despite the efforts undertaken, the restructuring and modernization of agriculture and food industry is still a current problem in Poland.
doi:10.25365/thesis.2655 fatcat:bcgq2forpzdbbeklgbs5nv3oom