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The paper presents the evolution of agro-food chain in Poland using the example of two important food products: pork and apples. The paper analyses the inheritance of former economic system, the influence of the transition period and the current situation in the fruit and pork markets. The goal of the research is to show links between producers, the processing sector and distribution networks.

The paper focuses on the position of small producers, their possibilities of self-organisation and the public support they receive. In addition, the results of a preliminary survey are presented, which stress the most important problems of small producers: poor institutionalisation, especially in the area of self-organisation and very limited access to modern knowledge and technology. As a result, thousands of farms have reduced their ties with the market and produce only for the needs of their own farm households. There is lack of well-defined and efficient public support for small producers, most of whom feel like losers in the process of post-communist transformation and market reform.

This publication forms part of the Regoverning Markets project.