
All participants in the discussion agreed that it was a difficult year for Polish agriculture, not only because of problems caused by storms, drought and floods, but also because of a certain instability of this sector and uncertainty about its future, caused by, among other things, the geopolitical situation.
As Krzysztof Ardanowski, a member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who took part in the discussion, pointed out, farmers primarily focus on the "unpredictability of the market, which also translates into the level of prices, as well as problems with food sales."
– The second bottom of the Green Deal is the dependence of the nutrition of the inhabitants of Europe on external food – whether from South America or currently from Ukraine. This applies not only to Poland, but also to other European countries, including the wealthy ones. In all European countries, this instability and financial and market problems keep farmers awake at night, sometimes more than whether a natural disaster will come – assessed Krzysztof Ardanowski.
Changes in EU law are not going in the right direction
Marek Budzisz, an expert on Russia and post-Soviet areas, Strategy and Future, stated that – in his opinion – the announced changes in EU law "do not go in the direction postulated by, for example, protesting farmers."
– Firstly, the departure from climate policy in the form in which it was formulated will, in my opinion, concern exclusively or primarily industrial issues. (…) I do not see any symptoms or signals that the European Commission would like to fundamentally revise the policy towards agriculture and climate policy related to agriculture – said the expert.
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He added that he would rather expect further issues to be raised, i.e. the reduction of methane emissions and the related reduction in animal production.
– The issue of the so-called methane footprint will appear, and I do not rule out the water footprint either, because the European media, after this year's summer, which is considered the warmest in the history of measurement, are quite common, full of calls to activate EU policy also in the area related to water management" – predicted Marek Budzisz. He added that this may be a chance to organize this sphere in Poland, but – according to him – it must be taken into account that in this area there will be strong competition, mainly from the countries of southern Europe, which "are much more affected by the crisis related to the desertification of entire areas.
European countries are friendly towards Ukraine
The expert also noted that European countries are also interested in opening the European market to products from Ukraine.
– We will rather be dealing with negative trends from the point of view of the expectations of Polish farmers. We need to react in a thoughtful way, to what is happening and to what may happen – Budzisz summed up.
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First, we need to help the affected farmers. There will be time for political settlements later.
Regulatory and economic pressure on Polish farms
Also according to Bartosz Mielnik, an expert from the Jagiellonian Club Analysis Centre, the trends are very worrying.
– In terms of the common agricultural policy, regulatory and economic pressure on Polish farms is increasing. In Poland, this has a special dimension, because our agriculture is fragmented. This is not a disadvantage in itself, but in this specific market environment it is definitely a big challenge – indicated Bartosz Mielniczek. He added that not only increased import or EU requirements regarding new technologies or reducing the environmental footprint of farms are causing challenges, but also the increasing concentration on subsequent links in the food chain.
All of this – in Mielniczka’s opinion – means that the market and the entire socio-economic environment increasingly squeeze not only smaller but also larger farms. As he emphasized, the maximization of efficiency and maximization of work effectiveness are visible, omitting the social role of agriculture.
-The state must boldly intervene, not through subsidies, but by changing ownership relations within the food chain, investing in processing, supporting cooperatives of shareholders of agricultural producer groups and openly engaging in a conflict with large corporations, especially in retail trade. Not through legal changes, but through capital entry – indicated the expert of the Jagiellonian Club Analysis Center.
Agriculture must develop
Krzysztof Ardanowski stressed that "public authorities have an obligation to ensure the continuation and development of agriculture as one of the most important, or even the most important, elements of state security."
– Of course, there are many issues that farmers themselves must take on and they understand that. These include issues such as: modernization, innovation, implementation of new technologies, improving competitiveness, better adjustment of products to consumer expectations. These are quite obvious things and it seems to me that the vast majority of farmers do this – added the former Minister of Agriculture.
According to Marek Budzisz, we can observe an increase in the importance of public authorities.
– Without an active and wise policy of this government, we will not achieve much, both in terms of a certain tender in the European Union, which will begin with the new budget perspective, and in the area of recovering entire regulatory areas and the ability to subordinate to Polish regulations what is today considered to be the EU domain. It is important to apply EU solutions in such a way that it strengthens our negotiating position and protects our interests – the expert emphasized.
Source of information: PAP MediaRoom