Polish Countryside and Agriculture on the Background of Global Changes

The aim of research is to present the development potential of Polish rural areas and agriculture under the conditions of globalization. The analysis of the problem was based on selected items of subject literature. The development of agriculture and rural areas becoming more and more depended on current processes of the world economy. Polish rural areas have many strengths (e. g. a large area of agricultural land in Poland, relatively low agricultural production intensity, the structure of farms preventing excessive depopulation of rural areas). It allows the hope that Polish rural areas could be an important element demonstrating the European development paths. It is expected that Membership of Poland in the Union structures as well as processes of globalization are not only the passive background for Polish agriculture but they also determine the conditions of necessary changes allowing improvement of its competitiveness. Poland, becoming a part of the European Union, joined the group that undertakes extensive efforts at the WTO forum to maintain the European model of agriculture in the process of globalization.