As we read in the official statement of the ministry, the subject of discussion was the issue of excluding part of agricultural land from the Agricultural Property Resource of the State Treasury (ZWRSP) from expiring lease agreements. This is about implementing the provisions of the act that forced large companies to exclude 30 percent of land leased from the state in favor of individual farmers. Otherwise, they are obliged to return the land after the end of the current lease agreement, and KOWR should distribute it among local farmers.
Aggrieved by the minister
The Minister of Agriculture referred to the demands of large tenants who demand statutory changes regarding the principles of land leasing.
"Representatives of the companies affected by this problem emphasized that such large land exclusions will have disastrous consequences for their further operations. They addressed a request to the KOWR Management to change the principles of land leasing. They emphasized that the current long procedures for concluding lease agreements and the possibility of concluding agreements only for 8 to a maximum of 15 years significantly limit development opportunities," the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a press release.
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Minister with understanding
Czesław Siekierski – we read in the information – "referred with understanding to the demands of companies leasing State Treasury land." The minister stated that he is in favor of leasing land for agricultural purposes instead of selling it, because this means that the land is not taken over by developers.
Other statements by the minister from today's meeting with large tenants may, however, raise concerns among individual farmers who are waiting for the return of land from tenants who have not made statutory exclusions. Especially since land prices are skyrocketing and few people can afford to buy them.
– I would like to ask the directors of regional KOWR branches to take into account, when deciding on the scale of land exclusion, that breeding companies engaged in animal production should be strengthened – said the minister.
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The head of the ministry also suggested that the KOWR officials subordinated to them should "be guided by common sense when managing the agricultural real estate resources of the State Treasury."
– It is the KOWR management, both at the central and local level, that has the best insight and is able to make the best decision – noted the minister quoted in the release.
Officials on the carpet
As can be seen from the PAP telegram regarding the above-mentioned meeting, owners and representatives of companies visiting the minister had many reservations about the activities of KOWR regarding the exclusion of land from leases, and KOWR officials had to explain themselves. The owner of one of the breeding companies leasing land from the state resources stated, for example, that the directors of KOWR local branches in practice take not 30 but 40% of the land, and sometimes even more.
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A discreet bow
It is hard to resist the impression that Czesław Siekierski has just made a discreet but graceful nod to large companies leasing state land. The question is whether this is just diplomacy or a real change in our land policy.
After all, officials should make decisions according to the letter of the law, not their own whim or, as the minister proposes, "common sense". Siekierski showed understanding for the problems of large tenants, but he leaves specific decisions regarding the return and management of leases to KOWR. "The wolf is full and the sheep is whole," one might diplomatically comment.
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Law or preferences?
What does the suggestion that KOWR should apply some additional preferences to companies engaged in animal production mean? Does this mean, for example, that a company from the Opole region should be given more land because it has cows? After all, under the law, it could make exclusions and still retain the land needed for farming. However, it did not fulfill its obligations under the Act, so it had to return the land after the expiry of the lease agreement. Today's problems for large tenants result from ignoring the law.
Finally, it is appropriate to discreetly remind the government of the farmers' protests in the Opole and West Pomeranian voivodeships. They led to the adoption of the current law on exclusions and land turnover, and indirectly to the change of the ruling team.
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