Dr inż. Barbara Lech-Turaj

Mgr inż. Andrzej Szłapa

Directions of changes in agriculture in the Małopolskie rural areas

The Province of Małopolska is an exceptional region in many respects. It is also very important for the proper functioning of both the economic and social life, and the natural environment in Poland. Upon the integration of Poland into the European Union, a unique chance appeared for the people in Poland living in rural regions to relatively quickly improve their economic situation. But first of all, an opportunity materialized to regulate and control processes associated with water circulation and water erosion, as well as with the necessity to protect water resources and natural biocenoses, which were disturbed and deteriorated by the past too intense development of agriculture in this region. Owing to the present EU agricultural policy, it is now possible for Poland to receive considerable financial means from the EU funds. The condition is that farmers in this region have to introduce comprehensive agro-technical measures and facilities along with initiating large-scale agro-environmental operations, and to expansively perform them. In many areas of the region, the agricultural production of agricultural farms should be linked with the protective and conservatory actions. Also, in the near future, the pure production agriculture in the region should be transformed into multifunctional agriculture. Agriculture, which ...

Dr inż. Barbara Lech-Turaj

Mgr inż. Andrzej Szłapa

Proposals for organization of rational re-construction of land structures in the rural areas in Poland

Rural areas are of great importance both for the natural environment and for economic life in Poland. Increasingly greater importance is assigned to their non-agricultural functions, such as: residential function, water management, regeneration of people’s strength and health, conservation of the natural environment, forestry, etc. The necessity for reconstruction of farming structures, regulation of processes related to the circulation of water and water erosion, and the need to protect water resources and natural biocenoses, will require formulation of a new usage model in those areas, and introduction of thorough changes in the area of agricultural management. Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 has allowed for taking long-term, very costly but necessary actions implementing the most important general social objectives, such as flood prevention and regulation of water relations, protection of the resources and valours of the natural environment and its partial renaturalization, shaping of the required climatic and landscape advantages of the rural areas, extension of the agricultural function of farms (apart from manufacturing activities) with ecological activities (related to conservation and protection), as well as conservation of cultural and ethnographic properties of the rural areas. Due to organizational reasons and their pro-social nature, such activities should be ...

Dr inż. Barbara Lech-Turaj

Mgr inż. Andrzej Szłapa

Directions of agriculture development in the malopolska region in view of integration into the European Union

Malopolska region is the region specific in many respects, it has crucial importance for the proper functioning of both economy and social life but also natural environment of Poland. Poland’s integration into the European Union provided a major and unique chance for relatively fast improvement of economic situation of rural dwellers and primarily for regulating processes associated with water cycle and water erosion, and the necessity to protect water resources and natural biocenoses which have been disturbed or degraded in result of too intensive development of agriculture in these areas in the past. EU agricultural policy allocates sufficient means from the Community funds to these aims but only if a number of complex activities to improve agricultural facilities and agrienvironmental measures are implemented by the farmers of the region. In many parts of the Malopolska farm production should be connected with protective and conservative measures. Agriculture in the province, so far focused only on production, should change into multifunctional one in the nearest future. The authors think that because of specific landscape, therapeutic, recreational and cultural values of mountain and upland areas of Malopolska and their importance for national economy and flood-protection of the country, three provinces (Malopolska, Podkarpacie and ...