Conference paper
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO AID STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS. TIM CASE OF POLAND
Henryk A. Jasiorowski
; Agricultural University, Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
The domination of small farms and overpopulation are old phenomena of the Polish agriculture. Political and economic sudden changes in 1989/90 by introducing free market and free competition, by removing subsidies and redusing employment in the industry put the Polish agriculture and rural population in a new and difficult position. Due to the transformation the standard of living of the population went down reducing food demand. Prices for agriculture production means went unproportionaly up and majority of part time farmer lost their industrial employment. As a result the profitability of agriculture including animal production went seriously down. Real income of farmers was reduced between 1989 to 1992 by 64 percent. Consequently population of farm animals and the production of milk and meat has been reduced by 30 percent in average. During the last two years some kind of economic stabilization has been observed but the future of Polish agriculture presents several problems. Concentration of land is generaly recognised as desirable but without much hope for great change during the next decade. Therefore it is necessary to build such infrastructure in the rural areas to absorbe the unemployed part of their population. Animal husbandry, special processing of animal products, agroturism should play important role in such planing. The concentration of farm animal population will undautably take place but for the long time farms with 3-5 dairy cows and few sows may predominate milk and pork production scene in Poland. Which production systems should be elaborated to make such animal production profitable, how to organize the breeding work how to adopt research and education programes to the new situation and how to find a suitable place for the Polish agriculture in the future Europe are the main questions to be answered.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
164434
URI
Publication date:
24.6.1996.
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