EN
Most rural areas in Poland are of mono-functional character what means that their economy is excessively based on the agriculture. The introduction of market economy rules in Poland has aggravated the development problems for these areas even further. Thus, the development of rural entrepreneurship should be seen as the fundamental condition to overcoming unfavourable phenomena in many rural regions. Stimulation of economic activity in rural areas will depend largely both, on local authorities and local community as well as on the level of education, development of infrastructure, consulting offered to small businesses and, above all, on the degree to which rural community is prepared to launch individual and collective efforts contributing to local development. An important role in development of economic initiative in rural areas should be played by the central authorities; by applying incentives encouraging individuals to create new jobs, they can contribute to the stimulation of the initiative not only in the domain of agriculture but also in many other spheres of human activity. The article discussed both, the barriers to and factors stimulating economic initiative in rural areas.