ABSTRACT
This chapter examines certain features of that policy since December 1970, when the Wladyslaw Gomulka regime was replaced by a new leadership headed by Edward Gierek. Agriculture has also been the traditional source of Polish exports and, hence, increased farm output was bound to improve the country's balance of payments. The fact that the Gomulka regime was simultaneously faced with a variety of other crises made it difficult for the government to pursue a rational and consistent policy toward agriculture. The government itself increased its investment in the agricultural infrastructure and also expanded the output of industrial branches serving agriculture. The preferential treatment accorded nonagricultural sectors was illustrated by the fact that in 1976 capital investment in agriculture, both socialized and private, accounted for only 13.4 percent of total investment. The growing belief that the time was ripe for major restructuring of the farm sector represents a watershed in the general perception of the future of Polish agriculture.
