The Foundation for the Development of Polish Agriculture, together with Scholar Publishing House, announced for the first time in February 2009, the first edition of the competition for works on Polish agriculture and rural areas under the name "Polish countryside - legacy and future", in order to promote Polish agriculture, rural and heritage issues and enrich public debate on the Polish countryside.

Works submitted by participants interested in the subject matter of the competition are assessed by the Competition Jury in two categories:

• Scientific (including doctoral dissertations), popular-scientific and other works not belonging to these two categories, but presenting a particularly inspiring and innovative view on rural development issues;

• Works presenting the cultural heritage of the country and region, describing local initiatives, the historical heritage of villages (village monographs, archival collections of photographs as part of documentation, memoirs) and works illustrating an example of success in the development of a Polish village (e.g. a book on the history of a village, a book on the history of a village, a book on the history of a village).

The Competition Jury will select two outstanding entries from among those submitted.

The winner in each category will receive a cash prize of PLN 5 000.

The awarded works will be published in book form by Scholar Publishing House.

Competition Jury:

Head of the Jury: prof. Jacek Raciborski

Members of the Jury: prof. Izabella Rylska, prof. Roch Sulima, prof. Józef Styk, dr hab. Paweł Chmieliński, dr Barbara Perepeczko, dr Andrzej Hałasiewicz.