Project: Poland
- “Kto ma morgi, krowy, Swinie, tego zawsze głód ominie!”
- “He who has acres, cows and pigs, hunger will elude!”
Country Overview:
The Republic of Poland is the sixth largest country among the 27 European Union (EU) members. Emerging in the 10th century, Poland was originally named for the Slavic tribe “Polanie”, which comes from a word meaning “plain” or “field”. Its name aptly describes the flat plains or rolling hills that cover most of Poland and are the site of many small subsistence farms and farming villages.
While Poland is not a poor country, the accumulation of wealth by its citizens is limited. Political factors, including two world wars, destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure and depleted its accumulated wealth.
About 50 percent of the country's area is used for agricultural purposes, a high proportion among EU countries. Polish agriculture, however, differs significantly from others in the EU. In the western part of the country there are prosperous regions with fertile soils and high levels of intensive agricultural production, which are able to compete against EU markets. But in the eastern part, there are many regions where the soil quality is poor, basic and climatic conditions are adverse for farming and where farmers run small-scale farms. Thus, it is very difficult to earn enough income exclusively from farming in this part of Poland.
Heifer's Work in Poland:
Key Services Heifer Provides:
Sustainable agricultural production: Biodiversity preservation with raspberry production; Planting nectar-producing plants to extend season supply of honey
Post-harvest management and processing: Constructing poultry slaughter houses
Market development: Small business start-up training for rural women; Strengthening poultry production value chain
Technology: Ameliorating genetics of dairy cow breeds; Artificial Insemination
Nutrition: Dairy cattle breading in food insecure areas