Wielofunkcyjność wsi i rolnictwa a rozwój zrównoważony
Sustainable development and the multifunctionality of rural areas and agriculture

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the interdependence between the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas and sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development has become the paradigm of modern theories of development. It is impossible to implement this concept, desirable for many reasons, without putting into effect the principles of multifunctional agriculture geared towards the attainment of both commercial objectives (the competitiveness of agriculture) and objectives connected with agriculture's functions as a provider of public goods and expert knowledge. Structural changes taking place in Polish agriculture are not conducive in a sufficient extent to an improvement in agriculture's productivity and the implementation of the assumptions of multifunctional agriculture. One of the reasons of this undesirable state of affairs is the faulty agricultural policy which contributes to the preservation of unfavorable structures and behaviors of agricultural farms. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development of the Polish Academy of Science (IRWiR PAN) the author of the article presents the most important domains of the Institute's research effort and its contribution to the solution of major social and economic problems of the Polish rural community and agriculture.

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