CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL FARMING IN THE PROVINCE OF MAZOVIA

Abstract

This study aims to identify the conditions for the development of social farming in the province of Mazovia, and to present the opportunities and barriers to the establishment of care farms in Poland. The study involved the method of desk-based literature review and the method of descriptive statistics. The paper provides an analysis of various forms of social farming functioning in the European Union and discusses the possible directions of care farming development depending on the degree of involvement of various institutions. In addition, the study focuses on the most important conditions for the development of care farms in the province of Mazovia, which include the dichotomy of socio-economic development, the spatial polarization of demographic processes and the ageing population. In 2013, the ageing index (the number of persons aged 65+ per 1,000 children aged 0-14) for the province of Mazovia was 993, however, it is expected that in 2035 it will be 1,758, and in 2050 it will reach 2,382. In 2050, the proportion of people aged 65+ in the population of Poland will reach 32.7%. Consequently, the demand for certain services e.g. in the field of health care and social care will be increasing. Unfavourable demographic processes like depopulation and undesirable processes affecting the age structure will mainly affect districts located in the peripheral areas of the province. Even though, currently there are not any care farms operating in Mazovia, there seems to be a great interest in this form of economic activity.