Poland Development Project, 1990 - 1996
From 1990 to 1996, CSREES collaborated with 31 land-grant
universities to assist the Polish Ministry of Agriculture
in restructuring and reorienting its agricultural extension
system at the national, provincial, and local levels. More
than 100 university extension personnel, most on 6-month
assignments, served in Poland on this project during this
period of tremendous change and uncertainty. By the time
the project finished, two-person teams from the United States
had served in 42 of Poland's 49 provinces.
Using a training-of-trainers approach, the project emphasized
the skills and knowledge required to succeed during the transition
to a market economy, focusing on such areas as business planning,
farm management, and marketing. Other programmatic areas
included leadership development, extension methodology, agro-tourism,
and youth development.
The project was deemed a success for several reasons, including
the determination and receptiveness to new ideas of our Polish
counterparts. Other contributing factors included:
- The approach was flexible and based on local needs—U.S.
extension personnel were required to develop a joint plan
of work with their Polish counterparts and implement activities
on a collaborative basis.
- The project stressed demand-driven programming at the
local level, and U.S. teams worked in the field rather
than in Warsaw.
- The 6-month assignments allowed adequate time to train
Polish extension staff to train others.
- There was excellent collaboration among USDA agencies
working in Poland, such as the Economic Research Service,
Agricultural Marketing Service, National Agricultural Statistics
Service, and the Foreign Agricultural Service's Cochran
Program.
- The U.S. Land-Grant University System proved to be a
tremendous resource, and the caliber of extension personnel
was often recognized as the key factor in the project's
success.
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