THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM VERSUS LAND CONCENTRATION PROCESSES
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM VERSUS LAND CONCENTRATION PROCESSES

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to answer the question of whether structural changes in ag-riculture are consistent with the concept of sustainable development. The adopted assumptionis that both agriculture and all rural areas should develop in accordance with the paradigm ofsustainable development, which means there is a need to abandon the mainstream neoliberalparadigm which currently dominates the economy. The research draws on the results of the Ag-ricultural Censuses carried out in Poland in the years 2010 and 2020. As the conducted researchshows, the processes of land ownership concentration in Polish agriculture are advancing, leadingto the emergence of industrial agriculture, but contradicting the paradigm of sustainable develop-ment. These processes, however, have been occurring in an uneven manner, with their scale anddynamics depending on historical determinants. The concentration processes are predominantlynoticeable in western and northern Poland, whereas in south-eastern and central Poland theirpace is slower. This may result in the formation of a dual model of agricultural development inPoland, in which, on the one hand, industrial agriculture will function by striving to increasecompetitiveness through higher productivity, and, on the other, sustainable agriculture will alsodevelop (in south-eastern and central Poland). Avoiding such a division would require a change inthe approach to agricultural policy, primarily in terms of adjusting the tools aimed at influencingagriculture to regional conditions.

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