Rural Area Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic as Exemplified by Urban–Rural Communes in Poland

Magdalena Anna Zwolińska-Ligaj () and Danuta Jolanta Guzal-Dec
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Magdalena Anna Zwolińska-Ligaj: Faculty of Economic Sciences, John Paul II University in Biała Podlaska, 21-500 Biala Podlaska, Poland
Danuta Jolanta Guzal-Dec: Faculty of Economic Sciences, John Paul II University in Biała Podlaska, 21-500 Biala Podlaska, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to characterize the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic for farms and resilience activities performed by farmers in response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of building rural area resilience. Research was carried out in all 87 urban–rural communes in Poland and focused on special determinants of rural resilience such as connections between small cities and rural areas, as well as the location of the territorial unit (peripheral versus non-peripheral). The purpose of the survey was to poll local government representatives on the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic for farms and identify resilience activities performed by farmers in response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Empirical research was performed from September to October 2021. The results emphasize the significance of the diversification of farms and networks for strategies for coping with the COVID-19 crisis. The research revealed processes wherein farms adapted, even if to a small extent, to crisis conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges, at the same time stimulating innovative responses in communities and businesses in rural areas. This study also confirms the role of ITC solutions in the process of adaptation to the crisis and implies a need to strengthen local links between the rural area and the city, especially those relevant to peripheral areas. Local government authorities play a crucial role in this process.

Keywords: commune resilience; rural area resilience; COVID-19; peripheral regions; local government; farm resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:12:p:5073-:d:1415082

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