FDPA Mission
The Foundation's mission is to support the sustainable rural development, in particular in the area of entrepreneurship, creating of off-farm jobs, ensuring equal chances to women, unemployed and young people.
The mission is realised through micro-financing and investment grants for the creation and development of small rural businesses; local development programmes, publications and in-depth focus reports on socio-economic aspects of rural life in Poland.
FDPA History
The initiative to establish FDPA started at the beginning of 1980s, when marital law was in force in Poland. Thanks to the generosity of D. Rockefeller’s Foundation and the involvement of such renown persons as Mr. Norman Borlaug (awarded with the Nobel Prize in 1971) Dr. Szczepan Pieniążek, DR J.B. Penn (Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture of the United States of America), the Foundation was registered in 1988 as a private independent non-governmental organisation, whose main goal was to support the restructuring of Polish agriculture and food economy, the transformations of rural Poland and the building of civic society.
At the beginning, FDPA concentrated on the transfer of western agricultural know-how to Poland. In 1993, as a result of closing state farms (PGR) rural unemployment grew drastically. Therefore, FDPA decided to increase the scope of its activities outside of the agriculture and food sector. FDPA concentrated on programmes supporting integrated rural development, entrepreneurship development (including rural tourism) and the creation of non-agricultural jobs in rural areas. To this end FDPA created the first micro-credit programme for rural areas. The micro-credit services were complemented with small business training and advisory.
FDPA Today
FDPA lending activities became more intensive thanks to the involvement in the Rural Development Programme (PAOW) financed by the World Bank and grants from the British Government, PARP and the Unidea Foundation and European Union (SPO WKP) to increase the micro-credit fund. Rural youth became a very important beneficiary and FDPA assisted them in finding job through the acquisition or improvement of qualifications during vocational and on the job training.
FDPA became involved in the rural Poland development debate. Foundation’s reports on the status of rural Poland published in 2000,2002 and 2004 are regarded as a comprehensive source of knowledge on the current situation in rural Poland and initiated many public debates. In year 2006 next edition of the report was published under the title: ”Rural Poland 2006”. FDPA also implements local development programmes in rural areas, and for this purpose it collaborates with other non-governmental organisations assisting rural development.
FDPA beneficiares
• Rural citizens, including farmers and their families,
• Rural youth and women,
• Potential entrepreneurs and unemployed,
• Owners of the small entrepreneurs,
• Local civil administration,
• Non-governmental organizations supporting rural development,
• Scientists and research institutions involved in rural development.
FDPA’s area of operation
FDPA operates through five field offices in Połczyn Zdrój (zachodniopomorskie voivodship), Płock and Siedlce (mazowieckie voivodship), Nowy Sącz (malopolskie voivodship), Zambrow (podlaskie voivodship) and through its headquarters in Warsaw.