AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS IN POLAND - AN ATTEMPT TOWARDS A TYPOLOGY*

Abstract

Agricultural organizations play an important role in political decision-making at the local, national, and EU levels. However, it is difficult to estimate to what extent the size of public transfers to the Polish countryside is a direct effect of these organizations' activity. The same question applies to farming privileges, which are much more numerous than those for other social groups in rural areas. One of the reasons for this stems from the fact that agricultural organizations in Poland have rarely been examined. The aim of this article is therefore to obtain a structured picture of agricultural organizations in Poland and to search for relations between their legal forms and statutory goals. The main types distinguished here include farmers' trade unions, employers' organizations, agribusiness organizations (agribusiness federations and unions), and associations. Taking into consideration the number of members and the thrust of activities, including impact on agricultural policy, the most important agricultural organizations in Poland seem to be the trade unions and agribusiness organizations. The substantive difference between them lies in their stated goals. Trade unions primarily indicate goals of a social nature. Federations of agribusiness organizations strive to support their members and promote policy changes, while agribusiness organizations work for the development of specialized farms.