Discussion Papers 1988.
Spatial Organization and Regional Development 277-296. p.
2 77
Ryszard HORODENSKI - Miroslaw SERWIN
THE NEEDS, SOURCES, AND CONDITIONS FOR THE
STUDY OF THE EASTERN COMMUNES OF BIALYSTOK
1/
VOIVODSHIP
1. Introduction
Polish scientific literature offers quite a
variety of studies devoted to broadly conceived
regional problems; see, e.g., Horodenski /1983/ for
a bibliography on the subject. In many works devoted
to this domain, there appears a characteristic cur-
rent, enabling knowledge of the country in its ter-
ritorial aspect to be gained along with one means
of interpreting regional policies. Employment of
such an approach to regional policy is characteris-
tic of the centralized management system, although
it does not entail proper consequences for the
links with branch-and-sectoral setting, usually
considered superordinate in this system of develop-
ment control.
Another essential approach to regional policy
finds its expression in the holistic cognition of
concrete areas /voivodships, communes, towns/ a+
gainst the background of the country and other
areas. This cognitive current makes it possible to
unearth all the local assets and reserves and to
suggest individual, specific directions of devel-
opment and thereby to enhance measurable and non-
measurable values. Such an approach is most often
applied in the very regions, usually by non-profes-
1/ Poland is divided administratively into 49 voi-
vodships, which are further subdivided into
communes /transe/.
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
278
sional scholars. The lack of accord that occurs
between the order-and-allocate management system
and the grassroots initiatives has been, until
now, confining this current of regional policy
and analysis only to vegetation. Absence of sys-
temic conditions for recognizing local assets and
reserves and for the inclusion into the scope of
socio-economic development factors means that these
assets and reserves are not paid sufficient atten-
tion by the decision-makers of various management
levels.
2. Studies performed
There is a relatively significant body of
knowledge resulting from studies of the socio-
economic development of Bialystok voivodship,
quite often carried out in connection with the
territories of Lomza, Suwalki, and Ostroleka voi-
vodships. The most important studies, worth noti-
cing here, are: Pukniel /1974/, Sikorski /1979/,
Niemiec /1974/, Pawluczuk /1981/, Walicki /1985/,
Sadowski /1981/, Horodenski /1974/, and Kupiec
/1975/. These studies form a framework for knowledge
on social and technical infrastructure, education,
culture, apartment availability, living conditions
of residents, and industries. A multifaceted an-
alysis of the demographic, settlement, and economic
problems of the area is contained in the work edited
and directed by J. Kostrowicki /1967/.
Studies and publications devoted to agri-
cultural and rural problems of Bialystok voivod-
ship will be commented upon separately. This sepa..
rate treatment is justified by the significance of
agriculture and countryside in the problematic
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
279
development of this area.
From among the numerous studies devoted to
rural and agricultural questions, those performed
at the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Devel-
opment /IRWiR/ and at the Scientific Research
Center in Bialystok should be given special at-
tention. These two institutions dug into a num-
ber of aspects of the current situation in agri-
culture and in rural areas. The most important
studies were reported, e.g., in Michna /1979/,
Horodenski /1983/, and Serwin /1985/.
Most often the studies on the development
of Bialystok voivodship were undertaken and carried
out at the initiative of scholars or their home
scientific institutions. It should be emphasized,
though, that the majority of these studies were
backed by political and administrative voivodship
authorities. Scientific findings presented in publi-
cations do not follow the conventions used in prac-
tice because of the reference to a broader documen-
t ry basis. Practice-oriented institutions basical-
1 refer to official statistics. In the case,
however, of carrying out studies on the development
of many domains of regional life, statistics are but
o0e of the sources. Thus, it perhaps must be em-
phasized that in many studies parallel to statisti-
1 data such other sources were made use of as in-
terviews, questionnaires, and source documentation.
In the research conducted to date, especial-
1 those devoted to economics, it is characteristic
that a tendency toward globalization,
e., to
t eatment of processes and phenomena on the voivod-
Ship scale, prevails. Such treatment was generally
approved by the voivodship authorities, since voi-
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial
280
Organization and Regional Development
vodship-wide indicators suited them best and were
well in line with the presumptions of the scien-
tific-allocative managerial schemes. These in-
dicators were also easier to obtain in view of
availability of appropriate data sources.
3. The study of the Eastern communes of Bialystok
voivodship
Against this background, the study of the
Eastern communes of Bialystok voivodship undertaken
in 1984 by the Scientific Research Center in
Bialystok displays favourable characteristics.
Voivodship authorities have concluded that a need
exists for deeper studies of the situation in the
Eastern communes of Bialystok voivodship, this
conclusion being motivated by the recognition of
a worsening socioeconomic position of the popula-
tion in these communes. The need for performing
such studies was also corroborated by the Inter-
voivodship Commission of the Nortil..Eastern Macro-
regional Planning Area /see conclusions of this
Commission of April 16th, 1986/.
On August 15th, 1984 an agreement was
concluded between the Voivodship Planning Commis-
sion in Bialystok and the Scientific Research Cen-
ter in Bialystok concerning
the study of "Prob-
lems of economic and social activization in the
communes located in the Eastern part of Bialystok
voivodship". This agreement contains a provision
specifying the substantial framework for this study.
Namely, three stages of work are envisaged, of which
two are:
x stage I, analytic-diagnostic, to be car-
ried out before June 30, 1985;
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
281
* II, research and forecasting, to be car-
ried out until the end of 1987.
Stage I has been completed and its main
results published in 22 detailed reports /see
Appendix/. These reports present a comparative
analysis of the area in question against the
background of the rest of Bialystok voivodship
and the country, an overview of the basic condi-
tions of this area's functioning, and indications
as to the most essential needs of the population
living in and the economy of the Eastern part of
the voivodship.
Within the Scientific Research Center in
Bialystok /CBN/, in the course of internal plan-
ning, it was established that until June and Decem-
ber of 1987 the research and forecasting tasks
related to the following domains, deemed neces-
sary for termination of the overall work, shall
be completed:
- demographic and socio-professional situa-
tion of the population,
- land economy,
- agricultural production in private farms
1/
without livestock.
Furthermore, in an effort aimed at securing
the proper multidimensional nature of the studies
undertaken, several additional enquires were to
be carried out, mainly via expert-based assessment,
on such subjects related to the Eastern communes of
Bialystok voivodship as:
1/ The question is important as private farming re-
presents a low specialization profile, with a
virtual absence of no-livestock farms even if
livestock is kept only for self consumption
purposes /transl./.
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
282
- the role of geographic-natural environment
in shaping the course of economic and social devel-
opment;
- forestry and its influence on the economy
and living standards of the population;
-settlement system development perspectives;
- housing conditions of the population and
housing construction situation;
- role of industry in economic development
and in shaping the population's living conditions;
- role of tourism in the development of the
Eastern communes;
- population living in the most difficult
conditions;
- water economy perspectives;
- competence and effectiveness of local
authority activities;
- economic and social policies seen from
the standpoint of social and economic development
needs of the neglected areas.
Detailed studies performed during stage I
encompassed all of the Eastern communes of Bialystok
voivodship /24 communes or other basic administra-
tive units/. Detailed studies of stage IT will be
performed on a mixed geographical basis. Some prob-
lems shall be looked at within the whole population
of the Eastern communes /i.e., all 25/, while other
problems will be analysed on the basis of just 6
communes, purposefully chosen /Sokolka, Szudzialowo,
Krynki, GrOdek, Michalowo, and Narewka/. It has been
assumed that proper in-depth studies can only be
conducted on a narrower, representative sample,
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
2 83
especially in view of resources and capacities of
CBN. The research program is founded on the as-
sumption that conclusions reached for the smaller
group of communities will also be valid for the
whole area in question and will make wider ranging
generalizations possible, which will be used for
further purposes.
In view of the need to go down to the level
of a village, a farm, or a small population group,
it will be necessary to complement or create from
scratch a portion of the documentary basis. To this
end, polling and questionnaires, direct observation
among inhabitants, and other non-statistical sour-
ces will be used, with the aim of obtaining an
objective assessment of the phenomena and situa-
tions observed. This method of gathering documen-
tation shall require special, separate organiza-
tional preparations, especially in the area consi-
dered.
Obviously, maps, or cartograms, also present
highly useful sources for the identification and
interpretation of social and economic situations.
In the majority of cases, they will be prepared and
presented according to communal breakdown, which
is considered foundamental for spatial representa-
tion in this study.
4. Findings of the study
Based upon these detailed studies of the de-
velopment of the Eastern communes of Bialystok
voivodship, which have been completed to date, two
findings can be forwarded. The first eon-
cerns the general development level of this area,
while the other concerns problems of the func-
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
284
tioning of agriculture. Besides these, some problems
related to the development of the area in question
are illustrated with maps presenting; population
/figure
1/; migration /figure 2/; agricultural
production space quality /figure 3/; and value of
agricultural production sales through the state
1/
market
/figure 4/.
Research performed during stage I confirmed
the opinion existing with regard to the Eastern
region; namely, that its social and economic devel-
opment level is lower than in the Western part and
in the whole of Bialystok voivodship. Besides that,
significant differentiation of many elements of the
economy and living conditions among the communes in
question was observed, as well as divergence be-
tween the spheres of economy and social life. Both
in the authors' conclusions and in the opinions of
reviewers and of the Scientific Council of OBN, the
need for conducting further studies of the still
open or insufficiently analysed problems was in-
dicated.
The Eastern part of the voivodship is domi-
nated by agriculture. Statistical data indicate
that approximately 60 % of the rural population and
13 % of the urban population in the 24 Eastern com-
munes live on agriculture-related jobs. These two
indicators do display a certain decreasing tendency,
though, for in 1950 they were, respectively, 90 %
and 22 %; but agriculture is still the main source
of income for the majority of population living in
the Eastern rural areas.
1/ This part of agricultural produce that is sold
through private market is usually not evaluated
because of lack of adequate data itransl./.
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
285
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Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
286
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Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
2 87
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Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
288
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Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
289
Certain conclusions of the study in its part
concerning agriculture will be highlighted in this
paper. First of all, the study enabled identifica-
tion of component elements forming conditions of
the agricultural economy of the area, as well as
identification of basic factors influencing the
level of agricultural production. Having performed
this identification, the study team went on to as-
sess the production effects attained, i.e., crop
yields and livestock numbers, and also agricultural
produce sales and their values as registered by
Cooperative Banks. The scope of recognition of these
data was taken with diagnostic, but also practical,
needs in mind.
Thus, this part of the research work encom-
passed the following domains pertaining to agri-
culture:
1. Population and agricultural labour force
resources.
2. Natural conditions of agricultural produc-
tion.
3. Availability of the most important capital
assets /farm buildings, more important machinery
items/.
4. Agricultural service: production, sales-
and utilization-oriented,
5. Supply of the more important production
means and materials for agriculture.
6. Sales through the state market, in physi-
cal and monetary units.
7. Basic elements of agricultural land
economy.
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
290
8. Main components of financial income and
expenditure on private farms.
Studies conducted within these domains al-
lowed first of all to ascertain that undertaking
the work was justified and that the comparative
methods used were proper. This stage of research
has provided data making it possible to state that
economic activation of agriculture, mainly through
the fuller used of so far underused factors, will
evidently require an input of means and resources
from outside. It is also at this stage of research
that it became possible to determine the capacities
of operationalization of economic and productive
/i.e., technical/ reserves, on the basis of inter-
nal factors. To this end, research concentrated on
determination of locally appearing reserves and on
the search for appropriate economic and social fac-
tors together with conditions for their activation
and use. While in the first stage of the study com-
munes constituted the main object of research in-
terest, in the second stage, still pursuing the
similar problem area, work concentrated on vil-
lages and farms from the six chosen communes.
Results obtained during the first stage of
work made it possible to establish that the main
elements influencing the conditions of agricultural
production and economy within the area of the
Eastern communes can be classified as follows:
A Natural conditions of production. These
conditions are generally worse in the area consi-
dered than in the Western part of Bialystok voi-
vodship, but concrete qualities over particular
communes differ significantly. It has also been
shown that the activities aiming at improvement
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
291
of these conditions /fertilizer application, land
improvement techniques/ has on this area much smal-
ler scope and magnitude.
x Smaller quantity and weaker quality of
labour force resources in agriculture. Rapid
diversion of labour force from agriculture was
not compensated, neither in proper quantity nor
with proper timing, by substitutive equipment.
Similarly, the degree of development of the agri-
cultural servicing network, and especially the
very functioning of service units, did not satisfy
the needs expressed by farmers.
x Monetary net incomes obtained by farmers
from produce sales were here much lower than in the
Eastern communes. There exists substantial evidence
indicating that expenses in farms are dominated by
fiscal dues, compensations for family members giv-
ing up agriculture and their farms share and moving
into town, and by capital investment expenses. Only
a narrow margin is left for current production in-
put purchases, so that attaining higher yields,
conditioned by higher inputs, is out ofthe question.
Problems of agricultural development delay
in the Eastern communes should be looked at from
two angles. First, it is feasible to look at the
justifications presented in the analyses of the
geographical allocation of the food economy in the
country, with special reference made to agriculture
as the primary, raw-material-producing, link of the
food economy chain. Thus, problems considered would
be placed in the perspective of geographical loca-
tion and means allocation theories. The present
state of empirical knowledge indicates that actual
allocation of production means necessitates ration-
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
292
alization, while existing general scientific pre-
requisites are not sufficient for proposing single
proper solutions to be attained. The latter state-
ment is clearly corroborated by the specialists
from this domain. It would, in particular, be very
difficult at present to formulate "objective"
criteria of optimum allocation of agriculture and
food economy throughout the country. Within the
set of hypothetical partial criteria, economic ef-
1/
fectiveness
is certainly an important element,
but it cannot become the decisive instrument for
shaping the spatial distribution of agriculture.
It should at this point be recalled that applica-
tion of just this one criterion has significantly
contributed to the present spatial differentiation
of agriculture in the country. Thus, other criteria
should also be taken into account, derived from
social conditions and related to work and living
standards of population living in other areas of
the country. The question of elaborating the pro-
per criteria for the optimal /optimizing/ model of
agriculture allocation is, however, yet to be un-
dertaken; detailed studies must precede the at-
tempted solution.
On the other hand, though, there exists cur-
rent evidence of the pressing need of finding ad
hoc solutions that would aim at defining methods
and means for decelerating the process of further
spatial differentiation in agriculture. The
portance of this problem results directly from the
goals of the present agricultural policy, i.e.,
attainment of food self-sufficiency of the country,
in part through "profitability of production achi-
eved by good farmers". It is justified to suspect
1/ To be well distinguished from economic effici-
ency /trensl./.
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
293
that in the regions of lagging agricultural devel-
opment there will not be many such "good farmers"
being able to achieve adequate levels of profitabi..
lity in their local conditions, and certainly their
number will be much lower than on the better devel-
oped, preferred areas. It can also be anticipated
that farms from the socialized agricultural sector,
i.e., state or cooperative farms, especially those
newly organized on the land given over to the state
by the abandoning or retiring private farmers, will
have difficulties qualifying as "good farmers" from
that point of view.
What kinds of ad hoc solutions can be con..
sidered for the areas of lagging agricultural de-
velopment? When contemplating such solutions, that
is, the ones that can be implemented in 5-10 years,
one should take into account the following types of
activities:
1. Those that aim at elimination of the most
flagrant negligences impacting the conditions of
agricultural economy and production. First of all,
this concerns the spatial land economy within farms
/liquidation of in-farm land scatter, securing of
contiguity, etc./, water economy, both in terms of
general water resources and water supply, improve-
ment of electricity supply, local road network,
and bettering of the service and supply system.
2. Those that aim at more direct improvement
of the financial situation of farmers and in the
actual supply of production means and capital in-
vestment goods as well as consumption goods.
Improvement of the financial situation of
farms and thereby also of the labour force condi-
tions over relatively small areas, being an in-
tegral part of the country's economic organism, is
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
29 4
a very difficult undertaking. Two directions of
possible actions can be taken into account:
a. policies aiming at increasing monetary
incomes of agriculture, taking on at least two
following forms: first, as budget disbursements;
and second, as adequate agricultural produce prices,
and also low- or no-interest credits with possibiii-
ty of remission;
b. policies aiming at decreasing farm ex-
penses; as in a. above, also in this case two
forms of policies are feasible: one, concentrating
on prices of production means bought by farmers;
and the other, referring to lowering or even remis-
sion of fiscal charges /mainly land tax/.
Mixes policies, aiming at the simultaneous increase
of incomes and decrease of expenses for productive
purposes, of course also can be contemplated.
As can easily be seen, implementation of
most of these policies would require an interven..
tion of national state authorities. Regional autho-
rities would have to monitor proper implementation
through influencing local decisions, where applic-
able.
The other variant of undertakings leading
to activation of the Eastern areas will first of
all address not so much practical solutions as
research work. As has already been mentioned, the
current state of knowledge does not give sufficient
foundations for proposing "model" /i.e., to be fol-
lowed or just implemented/ solutions for the spatial
allocation of agriculture and the food economy sec-
tor throughout the country. In this situation such
research directions should be considered necessary,
which would bring possibly complete recognition of
Ryszard Horodenski - Miroslaw Serwin: The Needs, Sources, and Conditions for the Study of the Eastern Communes of Bialystok Voivodship
In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
29 5
this portion of economic and social reality of
levers and mechanisms forming it, and only there-
upon formulation of "model" solutions. Such studies
could be organized and conducted on the scale of
the whole country, by the adequately strong insti-
tutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
References
/all in Polish/
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In: Spatial Organization and Regional Development. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 1988. 277-296. p.
Discussion Papers, Spatial Organization and Regional Development
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