Distribution of LEADER support designed to local agricultural products in Poland

Abstract

The LEADER method, introduced in 1991 in the European Union, is an important mechanism for rural development. The method is designed to support non-agricultural activity but also supports certain forms of agriculture including the production of local products based on local resources. The authors answer the question: How does the LEADER method support local agricultural products (LAPs) in Poland? All LEADER projects created in Poland in the period 2007-2013 (more than 27,000 projects made available by the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture) were researching projects associated with LAPs (1326 projects). The research was supplemented with information obtained from the websites of all 336 Local Action Groups (LAGs). This activity allowed identifying models of various support models associated with LAPs in Poland, its scale and spatial differentiation. At the same time, the paper attempts to identify factors determining spatial variances in LAPs support across Poland.