Ownership Transformations in Polish Agriculture

Abstract

From Introduction:

"During the period of communist regime, Polish agriculture retained domination of private ownership of land, whereby 3/4 of total arable land remained in private hands. The remainder was used mostly by State-owned farms and, to a lesser extent, by agricultural cooperatives.

"The regional structure of farmland ownership in Poland is quite diversified. There exist regions with extreme comminution of farms and those where large, State-owned farms dominate. Structural transformations in farms depend mainly on the overall growth of the economy and, in particularly, on the ability of people employed so-far in agriculture, to undertake employment in other sectors.

"Polish intervening policy includes, besides actions bearing market type features, also those ventures which intend to improve agrarian structure. The key to structural changes taking place is found in the widely taken economic environment; however, current macroeconomic conditions to not stimulate changes in this respect."