Poland

Stakeholder engagement

Poland is one of the pilot countries of the FARMWELL project. The core partners in Poland are:

KPODR

Kujawsko-Pomorski Agricultural Advisory Centre – Farmwell’s Farming Partner

IRWiR PAN

Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences- Farmwell’s Research Partner

1st Practice group meeting

The 1st Practice Group meeting that focused on discussion about social challenges of farmers – took place through a hybrid session on the 1 July 2021 with the participation of 19 stakeholders, including:
• individual farmers,
• non-farmers representatives such as farming organisations, local and regional public authorities, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, health care institutions, Agricultural Social Insurance Fund, and the research institutions.
Social challenges of farmers identified in Poland are presented in the mapping report:
Poland Mapping Report
European Synthesis Report
The main challenges identified for Poland include:
• Spatiotemporal accessibility of health and social services,
• The internet and digitization,
• Generational renewal, and
• Social capital/cooperation.

2nd Practice group meeting

The 2nd Practice Group meeting – that focused on presenting and discussing social innovations in response to crucial challenges that impact on farmers’ wellbeing – took place through a face-to-face session on 01/02/2022 in Minikowo , Poland with the participation of 22 stakeholders including farmer’s representatives, social innovation presenters and non-farmers representatives e.g experts, representatives of administration, organisations.
The social innovations presented during the 2nd Practice Group meeting in Poland were:
• Independently (not oneself)>> – supporting people with disabilities The project aims to develop a ready-to-use model of supporting adults with intellectual disabilities, through practical testing of the developed model. Most of the activities are based on farms, whose owners/household members diversify their income thanks to work, while contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of local community members who are at risk of exclusion.
Home Hospice – New model of the home hospice is an innovative model of professional home care for people who are dependent, terminally and chronically ill, also involving support for their caregivers. The innovation is about creating a network of resources in rural areas.
Village e-box – An initiative started by a group of farmers and small food producers so that more people have access to quality food and food processors can increase their income. An internet platform was also created to present the members of the group, the message of the initiative, the quality system and to enable the purchase of products without intermediaries
Care in the barnyard – 15 care farms have been established, providing day care for the elderly and disabled. At the same time 30 people (mainly farmers) – acting as caregivers and volunteers – gained additional income and experience in care work.

Pilot Actions

Poland has carried out practical innovations action according to the specific needs of the farmers, allowing experimentation & co-learning. Pilot actions have been based on collaborative & interactive models, with the purpose of creating new linkages and connections between farmers and other stakeholders, building on their capacity for long-term cooperation.
You can read the pilot report here: Supporting rural areas on health services – A study visit with workshops and a debate

Case studies