Współczesne funkcje obszarów wiejskich na tle koncepcji multifunkcjonalnego rolnictwa

The article aims at answering the following questions: 1) Is the definition of rural area necessary, at the time of ”predicted” development prospects of common agricultural policy after 2013? 2) Is a modern definition of rural area an answer to the multifunctional character of agriculture? 3) Are the considerations on this subject a good basis for the construction of a catalogue of modern rural areas? The analysis results in a conclusion that the key to a modern approach to the revision of the “conceptual design” of common agricultural policy is the acceptance of its exceptional character. New eclectic concepts arise, based on widely spread interdisciplinary elements. The open character of the concepts should not cause the loss of their identity and cannot mean any uncritical reception of concepts developed in normative systems of other countries. A modern model of multifunctional agriculture is determined by many factors, none of them being the leading element. All of them have a common feature by definition and the “buckle” is the inseparability of their functions. The non–production functions of agriculture are closely related to the production. Agriculture must exist and function in its production activity to effect its social, cultural, natural, service and environmental functions. A vast catalogue of various factors that determine a modern concept of rural area in the multifunctional agriculture forms the basis for their typology and divisions. The classifications of modern functions of rural areas, as proposed in professional literature, are relative. The divisions are not separable – some of the functions imply one another.