Protecting the natural environment is currently a crucial problem and has great influence on the world’s activity. But it hasn’t always been the major aim of world’s economy. It became object of the interest when the level of environment degradation turned out to be really visible. Since that a lot of new rules have been introduced in order to keep the right balance in economical activity, social progress and protecting the environment. The aim of this paper is to present forms of financial support for protecting the environment policy in Poland based on Mazowsze District. Such tools like: descriptions, tables, graphs were used in the project to prove the importance of the financial support. Thesis presents the policy of protecting the environment in the European Union as well as in Poland. It also shows the law basis, aims and principles. The vital part of this work is to analyze how the money given for this aim to the Mazowsze District were used.

Milk production is an important source of income for more than 400 thousand farms in Poland. It constituted over 17% of agricultural market output in 2005. An increasing extent of cows breeding concentration has been noticed in Poland, especially on farms specialized in this field. A number of animals in one herd in countries of the Western Europe is from 20 to 60 cows but an average herd in Poland is about 4 cows. However, increasing proportion of farms, which are specializing in milk production, with large herds can be noticed. Conducted researches show that in a group of farms breeding from 10 to 50 cows, 80% of farms has enlarged their herds on average with 10 animals. An average number of herds was 28 cows on these farms. Researches were conducted on farms in Sośno commune in Sępolno poviat. It is typically agricultural commune, where 75% of area is agricultural land and an average farm is 18 ha. The basic goal set within the researches was to determine an extent of changes, which took place after Polish accession to the EU and also intensity of interest in property changes. In researched commune there was 25% of land owned by the Agricultural Property Agency (APA).

The paper presents the analisys of four agrarian structures at the level of voivodships in Poland. As a result of the application of the relevant taxonomic procedure groups of voivodships of similar agrarian structures have been obtained. Each group has been shortly characterised.

Europe has numerous mountain ranges situated in the territories of most countries. European mountains have a key importance for the numbers and diversity of flora and fauna, so they are called the “ecologically underestimated spine of Europe”. Despite the fact that individual mountain ranges reveal high geographical and natural diversification and are situated in countries conducting various economic policies, still so called mountain issues are similar. These comprise maintaining biodiversity, water protection, natural environment protection and creating centers of tourism, recreation and services. However, the most important current problem of the European mountain areas is preserving demographic substance, which is an initial condition for maintaining environmental adequacy and economic importance of the mountains.

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to evaluate realization of the farmers’ pensions programme for farmers in the years 2004–2006 in Poland as well as presentation of main directives of the farmers’ pensions programme in Poland in the new programming period of the European Union support for the years 2007–2013. There is an attempt to find an answer for a question: Did the structural pensions program realized in Poland the period 2004–2006 contribute to achievement of structural policy goals on rural areas? The idea of farmers’ pensions is to encourage farmers to stop agricultural production in pre-retirement age and passing owned farms in a way which will improve an agrarian structure in the country. Taking into account indicators concerning program realization, it can be stated that drawing pensions at pre-retirement age in the case of farmers, an important instrument of the Rural Development Plan 2004–2006, contributed significantly to acceleration of generation exchange of farmers.

In the paper there were presented results of bibliography researches on methodological issues concerning the old and new institutional economics. The institutional economics has been developing since a few dozen years. Contemporary, after the period of marginalisation, this direction has gained a new nterpretational approach. This article is an attempt of confrontation of two different interpretations of economic reality within the institutional theory. A common methodological approach is inter alia an institution’s interpretation from social sciences’ point of view. In the paper there were presented an example of institutional matrix and an individual’s institutionalisation model as an instrument for an interpretation of social processes taking place on macro, meso and micro levels.

The article contains an analysis of production efficiency of oilseed crops in selected farms associated in International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN). Mt RE (Metric tonne Rapeseed Equivalent) is used for the purpose of comparison of oilseed crops production efficiency. Technical efficiency was computed by applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Analysis of efficiency shows that products of soya and sunflower can rival products of rape.

The overall objective of the research presented in this paper was to evaluate how a rural setting affects female entrepreneurial small business. The comparisons were done between two different sample of woman running small businesses in Poland and South Dakota rural areas. There was possibility to use the same questioners investigating the Polish and American women. Most surveys participants in two countries have much in common. The main factor important to the success of these businesses were hard work, driver/passion and prior experience. The most important characteristics of successful business women were contributing to family income, making a profit and in South Dakota – helping others (in Poland less valid). The need for training programs was found to be very high in Poland as well in South Dakota entrepreneurs women groups. In American research was not approved that rural areas have negative impact on woman entrepreneurship. In Poland opposite – rural areas have worse environment for development then towns.

Because of the multiplication of his phenomenon, entrepreneurship is the object of interest of many scientific disciplines, such as economy, marketing, phraseology, sociology, psychology. In most research approaches it is connected with economic activity, however public awareness of entrepreneurship and its connection with definite human features or groups of human features is rarely regarded. Developing entrepreneurship is particularly necessary in the rural areas. It is the condition of overcoming of many unfavorable occurrences in these regions, e.g. unemployment, deteriorating financial status of village families, claiming approaches. The purpose of this study is to present: how rural citizens understand the essence of entrepreneurship, which features characterize a man of initiative according to them, how they estimate entrepreneurship of their neighbors, how they explain the barriers with developing new activities, if, according to them, the self- -government of the communes create good atmosphere for enterprise development. The research of which results are presented in this study were done in 2006 among the inhabitants of six village communes of east borderland in Poland.

The article includes description and diagnosis of socio-economic changes which took place at rural areas in Poland after 1989 year at the beginning transformation. In the article was made an attempt to evaluate the impact of demographic and social processes for the development of this areas. Changes and directions of transformations had stimulant influence for the development (e.g. successive progress of rural areas inhabitants education) and stonewalling as well (such as growing unemployment, migration processes, ect.). In research was made an effort to answer the question, what are the social-economic sources and reasons of transformation.

The paper presents range and forms of producer groups activity support after 2001 from the national budget and European Union budget. The first part of the work discusses the rules of financial support for the groups created before Poland accession to EU. There are data showed regarded numbers and structure of the units supported with the consideration of regions and agricultural production sectors. The second part of the article considers the mechanism of groups activity support according the Polish Rural Areas Development Plan coo financed with the European Union budget. There is a presentation of number of groups changes in 2004–2006 period as well as beneficiaries structure according to the regions and types of products. At the end one can find not only cognitive but the practical conclusions as well.

This paper identifies and assesses profitability of solutions applied by Milk Cooperative in Lublin regarding milk products transport within 2001–2005. An assessment was done basing upon Milk Cooperative transport cost comparative analysis with transport cost of other transporting firms. Earning capacity coefficients were applied to measure outsourcing effectiveness of transport service in researched Milk Cooperative. Survey enabled to examine that outsourcing applying in transport service is more profitable than maintaining own transport.

Dynamic developments in the area of biotechnology, including production and processing of food, taking place in the 21st century, cause serious social concerns in relation with uncontrolled leaks of transgenes to the natural environment and with long-term effects of consumption of genetically modified food for human health. This articles analyses opinions of Polish consumers about genetically modified food on the basis of a survey of 112 students from Warsaw higher schools who have been selected at random. The survey, in the form a questionnaire, has examined the level of respondents’ knowledge about genetically modified food and its values (e.g. longer shelf life, less calories, etc.).

This paper describes and assesses the current status of meat production and major trends in such a production. There has been an increase trend in meat consumption per person in most of the countries even also it is a luxury for most population in the world. The world meat production and consumption has been increased especially by the increasing live standards in developing countries. It is expected that the productivity In livestock will determine global meat trade. Some developed countries have comparative advantages by productivity by the reason of economics of scale. In this paper, it is aimed to describe the world meat production, consumption and trade trends.