Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 32 (4), 2013
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Item Introduction(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Kołodziejczak, AnnaItem Agriculture of the Czech Republic in the 21st century: From productivism to post-productivism(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Věžník, Antonín; Král, Michael; Svobodová, HanaDuring last two decades Czech agriculture has gone through significant changes: the transition of agriculture in the 1990s and the entrance of the Czech Republic into the EU and its commitment to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Both of these changes contributed to the structural and regional differentiation of Czech agriculture and exposed it to competition with the whole of Europe. Furthermore, CAP exposed Czech agriculture to uneven conditions for farmers within the EU. The most significant results of these changes have been a decrease in the agricultural sector output, a reduction in farm animals bred, and shrinkage of arable land. On the other hand, many non-productive and non-agricultural activities in the rural areas are subsidised, which offers farmers new possibilities of development. The aim of this paper is to analyse the structural and spatial change in Czech agriculture between 2000 and 2010 on the basis of Agrocenzus data supplemented by opinions of farmers gained in a series of interviews.Item Spatial differences in the number of applications for payments under the EU Common Agricultural Policy submitted by agricultural holdings in Poland over the years 2002–2010(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Rudnicki, RomanThis article offers a spatial analysis of the number of applications submitted by agricultural holdings in Poland for funds under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy over the years 2002–2010 (a total of 874 thous. applications, Table 1). This activity was characterised by dividing the assistance means obtained into measures intended to improve: the natural environment (Table 2, Fig. 1), the agrarian-demographic structure (Table 3, Fig. 2), the technical equipment of farms (Table 4, Fig. 3), and their income situation (Table 5, Fig. 4). The above measures are also shown jointly (Table 6, Fig. 5) and spatial differences in their structure are presented (Table 7, Figs 6 and 7). The analysis showed there to be wide territorial differences among agricultural holdings in Poland in terms of the total number and structure of the CAP measures they implemented.Item Methods employed in research on the spatial structure of agriculture(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Kołodziejczak, AnnaThe research conducted in the field of agricultural geography concerns both, the conditions and factors controlling the spatial structure of rural areas. It includes several lines of study, like an assessment of the natural environment for agricultural purposes, designing land-use maps, examining agricultural suburban zones, model approaches to agriculture, the spatial structure of agriculture, methods of the typology and regionalisation of agriculture, or multi-functionality of agriculture. They make use of a great variety of methods. This article presents methods employed in research on the spatial structure of agriculture. It defines the notion of a spatial structure, the consequences that follow from it, and methodological assumptions. The methods discussed embrace statistical methods of studying the spatial structure of agriculture, those used to determine elements predominating in this structure and to describe its heterogeneity, as well as mathematical and spatial-econometric models.Item Is diversification of farm households still an option for integrated rural development? Evidence from Slovenia and Saarland, Germany(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Nienaber, Birte; Slavič, Irma PotočnikMultifunctionality of rural areas in Europe has become an important aspect of rural development in the last years. An important instrument to ameliorate the multifunctionality is diversification of farm income. As various forms of farm income diversification have been developed throughout Europe, the paper will survey the effectiveness of undertaken measures. First the issue of farm diversification will be argued theoretically. Then case studies from Saarland, Germany, and from Slovenia will analyse the importance of diversification for rural areas. A comparison of the two regions will reveal the chances and risks of diversification in a comparable new and old EU member state.Item Rural areas in Poland: Educational attainment vs. level of economic development(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Kamińska, WiolettaThe aim of this article is to analyse relations between the educational attainment of the rural population and the level of economic development of the rural areas in Poland. A typology of communes in terms of the analysed relations is made. This is the first research of this type involving all the rural areas in Poland conducted at the level of the commune. The research has shown a significant linear relation between the educational attainment of the population and the level of economic development of rural areas. The correlation coefficient amounts to 0.565.Item Farm families and future options – the role of the extension advisory service in shaping Irish agriculture(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) McDonagh, John; Farrell, Maura; Mahon, MarieAgriculture across Europe is very much driven by the reforms initiated by the European Union (EU) and World Trade Organisation negotiations. Reforms have mobilised a shift in agricultural practices from production to a somewhat contested post-production and, more recently, multifunctional agriculture regime. Accompanying such change has been the debate on the future of farming, the role of agriculture within the countryside, and the extent to which the sector will maintain support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the EU. Central to these discussions, in terms of bringing about beneficial change on farms and in rural areas, is the advice and direction available to farmers. The agricultural extension advisory services are an integral component of this process. This paper explores the position of public extension advisory services in Ireland and determines the extent to which these services are impacting the trajectory of modern agricultural practices within a framework of more traditional views of farmers and farm families.Item The process of depopulation in the rural areas of Ukraine(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Kuczabski, Aleksander; Michalski, TomaszThis study gives an analysis of the diversification of the demographic situation in the rural areas of Ukraine in the years 1992–2011 in a regional depiction (it corresponds to the NUTS 2 division applied in the European Union). The demographic situation of the rural population is undergoing increasingly distinct deterioration. It is the worst in central Ukraine and relatively the best in its western part. This is an effect of political, economic and social processes initiated in today’s Ukraine after World War One. It overlaps with negative effects of the processes of political transformation taking place in already independent Ukraine. The chances of improving the demographic situation in rural areas are rather slim and depend on two factors: (1) a fundamental change in the state policy towards the Ukrainian countryside and (2) overcoming a prolonged socio-economic crisis.Item Farmland conversion and changes in the land-use pattern in the Poznań agglomeration over the years 2000–2009(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Kacprzak, Ewa; Maćkiewicz, BarbaraThe pressure exerted by a large city determines non-agricultural forms of land use in areas situated in its neighbourhood. Among the most alarming consequences of urban sprawl onto the surrounding areas are a steady and irreversible shrinkage of farmland and conflicts resulting from a mix of functions performed by the areas. This article describes the dynamics, scale and spatial differences of the process of taking agricultural land out of production in the Poznań agglomeration in the 21st century in terms of changes in the land-use pattern. In characterising the converted land, it also presents chief directions of its transformation, the regulations in force, and the resultant lack of full information about factual, and not only partial, conversions.Item Transactions in land in the suburban zone of Bydgoszcz over the years 2007–2010(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2013) Głębocki, Benicjusz; Perdał, RobertThis article offers a spatial analysis of transactions in land seen against the resources of land and its use pattern in the Bydgoszcz suburban zone over the years 2007–2010. The research covered individual transactions aggregated into geodetic precincts by type of land. Its object was the most popular types of land, viz. farmland, built and unbuilt urbanised land, and recreational land. The analysis embraced the number of sale/purchase transactions concluded, the mean area of lots, and their market value.