SOCIAL SIDE OF AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVES. THE CASE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION CO-OPERATIVES IN THE OPOLE VOIVODESHIP

The aim of the article is to describe the social side of agricultural co-operatives and also to analyse what factors can in- or decrease this part of activity of agricultural production co-operatives (APCs). In the introduction to the article a definition of the aim of the paper, is provided, as well as a short explanation what the APCs really are. Next, the article describes the social side of activity of agricultural co-operatives. Then it presents how to measure it using the rate of social activity (RSA) proposed by the author. The last part of the article is the analysis, based on the data collected from the 28 APCs that operate in the Opole voivodeship shows the influence of selected factors on social activity in co-operatives. The findings show what and how strongly can increase the social activity in agricultural cooperatives