EN
Analyses of changes in Podlasie voivodship's agriculture and rural areas have pointed to a level of complexity of problems that indicates the high degree of difficulty and lengthy nature of any possible solutions. In testing possible longer-term change, the work described in greater detail the attendant opportunities and threats, with account being taken of the need to adapt agriculture and non-agricultural activity in rural areas to the agricultural policy and standards of the EU. The balance of benefits and costs associated with integration may even then turn out to be positive if the result is a transformation of basic productive structure in the whole food economy, i.e. on farms, and in the units supplying them, processing their produce, selling their final prod-ucts and rendering services to them. This direction may lead the structure of Podlasie's agribusi-ness towards increased efficiency of operations. At the same time, it would allow full use to be made of existing environmental and structural conditions with a view to the sustainable develop-ment of rural areas (inter alia via an optimal model for extensive pro-environmental agriculture linking up with forestry, tourism and nature conservation). The environment-friendly products of such agriculture, forestry and tourism may ensure the competitiveness of Podlasie., not only on the home market, but also when set against that of the European Union.