Summary

Rural human resources are an important capital and development potential since rural areas account for nearly 40% of the population. The population tied to agriculture has become considerably younger in the recent years. The propor-tion of the youngest persons (that is, in the age of 15) has grown. Despite the fact that only 37.7% of Poland’s population in the productive age lived in rural areas, the overall increase in the size of this group of population in the recent years was attributable mainly to the rural population.

The absorption of persons with higher education that is lower in the coun-tryside than in the cities, worse remunerations and generally poorer living stan-dards are among the most important reasons behind the migration of rural popu-lation to the cities and across the borders of the country.

The analysis of demographic features of emigrants from rural areas indi-cates that after the accession to the European Union migrants were usually young and well educated. Nine out of ten persons leaving rural areas in 2005 were in the mobile productive age, and six out of ten persons had completed at least secondary education. In the case of both farming and non-farming families, more often it were women who left rural areas, and since women were better educated than men, the emigrants’ level of education was relatively high.

Due to their young age, the emigrants are characterised by the highest fer-tility rate, thus the scale of emigration affects the number of births in rural areas.

The decline in the number of persons in the productive age upsets the proportion between the employed and unemployed. If the group of migrants is dominated by either of the sexes, it may have an impact on the process of entering into mar-riages. Nonetheless, migration from the countryside may be beneficial for rural areas from the point of view of a gradual decrease in the overstaffing in agricul-ture. Migrations are often an effect of a better use of labour in agricultural hold-ings, that is, of excluding the abundant workforce from agricultural production.

Moreover, it should be borne in mind that a part of these persons will return with higher qualifications and greater experience, and that financial transfers to their places of origin may contribute to improving the living conditions of their fami-lies, intensifying investments in their holdings or taking up non-farming activi-ties.

In the current situation when human capital is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping the development processes within the economy, edu-cation is gaining importance both as regards the general transformations in the environment inhabited and in the individual aspect as it determines a person’s prospects on the labour market and their chances for satisfying their professional and cultural aspirations.

For many years, there have been significant disproportions in the educa-tion of the populaeduca-tions of rural and urban areas, yet in the countryside, in the same way as in the cities, the educational aspirations are rising. In 2007, simi-larly to the previous years, rural areas, as compared to the cities, registered a nearly two times lower percentage of persons with at least secondary education and nearly three times lower percentage of persons with higher education.

The fact that women from rural areas give birth to more children than women in the cities means that the parents from the countryside are more bur-dened with childcare responsibilities. Even though the rural families are less numerous than years before, the relationship of the contemporary parents from the countryside (both mothers and fathers) towards their children is marked with aspirations reaching far beyond the agricultural profession. Indeed, the involve-ment of children in working in the agricultural holding has decreased. The chil-dren are provided with conditions appropriate for studying, investments in their development are made, and as far as possible their leisure time is ensured, con-trary to the common belief.

The principal sign of a change in the attitudes and aspirations of the mem-bers of rural families are the actions undertaken with the view of improving the

family’s current and future living conditions. It translates, inter alia, into a con-cern about the future generation.

The results of research imply that in the years 2000-2005 there was an in-crease in the quality of human capital in the group of farmers surveyed, meas-ured by the level of education – general and agricultural, and the frequency of using professional advisory services. In the period studied, in the overall number of managers the most dynamic increase was observed in the share of persons having secondary and higher education and temporarily using agricultural advi-sory services. The analysis of data confirmed the existence of a positive, though weak, relationship between the variables representing human capital and the value of commercial production of the agricultural holdings studied. Among the variables selected to be used in the study, the strongest influence on the scale of commercial production was exerted by the frequency of collaboration between a holding manager and an advisor. Considerable differences in average values of agricultural production sold were noticed between the groups distinguished in function of the level of education (general and agricultural) and the frequency of using advisory services. The data cited does not change the fact, however, that Polish agriculture is still characterised by an insufficient level of human capital (level of education, participation in the training system) and a mismatch between the needs and resources in this respect.

At the same time, it has to be taken into account that the young generation raised in the market-economy conditions might introduce several important and positive changes to the actions aimed at modernising agricultural holdings be-cause, apart from the ability to adapt relatively more effectively to the new eco-nomic reality, young persons usually have the appropriate qualifications. In ag-riculture, as in the entire economy, the human factor is gaining importance as regards providing development stimuli. Presently, not only the typically profes-sional knowledge matters, but also broad preparation in the domain of managing a holding or employing new technologies. Better educated persons find it sig-nificantly easier to function in the shifting market conditions, which also re-quires the ability to find information and use it.

In 2005, similarly to five years earlier, almost 20% of the population par-ticipating in the IAFE-NRI study was tied to agricultural holdings of young farmers. The population from this group was characterised by a better demo-graphic potential than the persons from other units, the aging process being ob-servable in both groups. The educational progress revealed to be a positive phe-nomenon and is beginning to perform a vital function in stimulating rural devel-opment.

The interest of young people in the agricultural profession and in conse-quence maintaining a favourable age structure among holding managers will undoubtedly depend on many different determinants: macroeconomic trends, situation on the domestic labour market, but also the state of the agricultural sec-tor itself. An important role may be played by the tendencies which revealed in the policy regarding rural development after Poland’s accession to the European Union. It chiefly relates, on the one hand, to the improvement of business out-looks for agriculture and the availability of numerous structural programmes, and on the other hand, to the uncertainty as regards the future shape of the CAP.

A growing competition and frequent changes of the situation on agricul-tural markets require relatively broad knowledge, skills and participation in training systems. The possibility to invest in human capital in agriculture by means of diverse instruments is provided by the EU and domestic rural devel-opment policies for the years 2007-2013. The analysis of expenses financed from the EAFRD in individual Member States showed that in the years 2007-2013 Poland allocated the comparatively highest amount of re-sources for the realisation of measures aimed at strengthening human capital.

The ratio indicating the intensity of support to the policy instruments intended to enhance human capital in Poland was 17%, while the average ratio for EU-27 was 7%. Such an elevated value of the ratio in question was connected with the important role within the Polish EAFRD ascribed to the measures directly relat-ing to the improvement in the domain of human capital (primarily by means of the early retirement programme). The support to the instruments directly strengthening human capital in agriculture (trainings, advisory, diffusion of in-formation) remained low, though, and remained at a level similar to the EU average.

3. Scope and consequences of differentiation of farm functions in