Lithuania is confronted with a period of profound change in agricultural structures and rural society. Efforts to privatize agriculture, and to bring the existing enterprises in line with the conditions of the market economy, create new opportunities and constraints for all parties. This research directs attention to the role and activities of various types of farmers, municipal officials, and rural women in the transformation process;Three different levels of change are taken into account: the macro level of the Lithuanian government's redefined role in economic and agricultural restructuring; the meso level of local and regional municipal officials' responses to the restructuring; and the micro level of strategies and responses by former collective or state and individual farmers;The findings are presented in three separate papers. The first paper explores how the interests of regional and local municipal officials intersect with farmers. The data suggest that since the start of the decollectivization process, the adoption of various laws related to private ownership of land and assets and the creation of a support program for private farmers have created some new opportunities for farmers. The findings also indicate that local officials, due to lack of funds and know-how, are very limited in what they can do to assist farmers;The second paper focuses on gender and restructuring. Through the use of a comprehensive theoretical framework, the effects of the restructuring process on rural women's lives, their role in the change process as well as their efforts to form networks or organizations of their choosing, are explored. The data suggest that women are not playing an active role in the change process and feel they cannot spare the time to establish their own networks, even though they personally experience extensive negative effects from the transition process;The third paper analyzes the changing relations between state and collective farms and new agricultural entrepreneurs. The findings suggest a strong resource- dependent relationship on the part of the newly started private farmers. In general, however, the linkages have a less competitive character than anticipated.