AGRICULTURAL REFORM IN POSTTRANSITION POLAND

Agriculture occupies a unique position in the economy of transition Po land: largely non-collectivised during the communist regime, a large p roportion of its agricultural output was, and continues to be, produce d on small, private, family-run farms, In this article it is argued th at the agricultural community is more at risk than many others in cont emporary Polish society from the dangers inherent in the transition to a market-driven economy, If Poland is to become a fully hedged, Weste rn-style nation, radical restructuring of the agricultural sector is e ssential, although to date reform has been rather marginal, Without a quickening of the pace of agricultural reform, Poland is unlikely to a chieve her goal of full EU membership by the beginning of the next cen tury. The portents that this will happen are not, however, promising.