On the need and benefits of researching rural areas and agriculture in Poland

The article presents arguments for the cognitive, theoretical and methodological benefits of studying the countryside and agriculture. Contrary to the often repeated opinions that they owe their existence to the anti-ruralist orientation of social sciences, orientalisation procedures or urban chauvinism, these are not unimportant phenomena in the contemporary world: they still constitute a significant part of the current socio-economic reality, the shape of many other important processes and events depends on their existence, and their study allows for the verification and falsification of established judgments, including many recognised scientific concepts. Also, the achievements of Polish rural sociology, agricultural economics or economic history – in most cases interdisciplinary in nature – turn out to be pioneering and significant in the light of later achievements of world science, which indicates that the problems of the countryside and agriculture are still a promising area of ​​research.