Szymon Kluka, a farmer from Grodzisk near Łódź, has been fighting in offices and courts for 13 years for the ability to conduct normal agricultural activities on the farm he took over from his parents, because the smells from his pigsty bother the neighbours.
The case was decided by a court, which in two instances found the farmer guilty. The farmer must pay over 100 thousand in compensation – 30 thousand for each of the married couples suing the farmer's neighbors, plus court costs. The farmer estimates that the penalty, including interest, could amount to as much as 120 thousand złoty.
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Siekierski: In the countryside, animals are bred, farmers cannot pay for bad smells
What causes problems with neighbors?
At the beginning, when the neighbours moved here, I lent them electricity to build a house, between my plot and theirs there is an undeveloped property, there was a cable lying there all year long – says Szymon Kluka, a farmer against whom an unfavourable judgment was issued, in an interview with Farmer. – I lent them electricity, I gave them electricity for construction. We had it before, so at the beginning everything was fine. I don't know when these relations broke down.
And the relationships are exceptionally difficult. There are situations in which Mr. Szymon's children are accosted by neighbors, he himself is slandered and insulted. The court dispute over the nuisance resulting from running the farm has long since gone beyond the walls of the courts.
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The verdict for a farmer from near Łódź may be a verdict for the entire agriculture sector
The court's verdict is full of absurdities
The court's ruling, not only in formal matters, leaves many doubts. All because of the recommendations the court issued.
– Sometimes I have orders that result from other legal regulations, because if the court orders me to mix slurry with the soil no later than the day after application, well, that results from other regulations, right? – asks the farmer in an interview with the editorial office. – I also have an order to transport slurry in sealed tankers, well, that's obvious. On the other hand, for example, I have an order to use additives of animal origin in animal feed, well, where is that forbidden! – Kluka gets irritated.
Mr. Szymon's case raises many concerns. All because if, after filing a cassation appeal, the decision of the second instance court is still upheld, a dangerous precedent will be set that could open the way to further lawsuits of this type.
Although Polish law is not a precedent law, an unfavorable verdict for the farmer will show the way to others who are not satisfied with their neighborhood. That is why both other breeders and agricultural organizations place great emphasis on helping the farmer.
What next? The case is not a binary one. The only thing left is a cassation appeal. This can be filed by the farmer himself, or on his behalf by the Ombudsman or the Prosecutor General. However, there is no guarantee of success.
The fact is that even if a complaint is filed, the farmer must comply with the court's decisions now. So not only must he pay compensation, but he must also comply with additional orders, such as planting a hedge. This element is also problematic, because the place of planting indicated by the court is exceptionally burdensome for the farmer and will cut off access to the storage spaces he has.
A ruling that could affect the entire agriculture sector
This is a precedent that may lead to a situation where no farmer in Poland, conducting agricultural activity, can feel safe, because despite doing everything right, it may turn out that he will be sued in court and may have to pay high compensation – says Janusz Terka, a pig breeder from the Łódź province, who is involved in the Szymon Kluka case, in an interview with the editorial office. – There is another aspect here that was not discussed here today. This farmer has to pay money to his neighbors, but he can breed animals, i.e. the court ruled that this production is legal, but he still has to pay his neighbors. This opens the door to further lawsuits – adds Terka.
Not only farmers but also Agricultural Chambers and the Ministry of Agriculture got involved in the case. Mr. Szymon also receives support from the local government.
Today, the first thing is to quickly help this gentleman who is in trouble – says Wiktor Szmulewicz, president of the National Council of Agricultural Chambers, in an interview with the editorial office. – We know that he has a month and a half to file a cassation appeal, because this is the only legal form he has today, because the judgment is already legally binding, so, and this cassation appeal will also be a stage, so that others will not want to go in this direction, because closing it in this way leaves the door open for others who may have different ideas. In order to prevent such situations, we need to create a law that is already in force in the entire European Union, for example, from what I know, in France it is treated as a rural heritage. Breeding and natural farms are, they are treated as heritage, so there is no right to close them. We need to see how it is, we need to adapt it to Polish conditions and then we will think about it – adds Szmulewicz.
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Farmer must pay compensation. Neighbors are bothered by smells from the pigsty
The Ministry announces aid
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Czesław Siekierski, came to Kluki's farm. Like other organizations, the ministry is highly concerned about the verdict and declares support. For now, this support will be primarily legal. In the further part, the minister announces the introduction of regulations that will protect farmers from such situations.
We will start preparing regulations that will protect farmers – the minister announced in an interview with Farmer. – We will speed up their preparation. Also, what the chairman of the National Council of Agricultural Chambers spoke about, we are also planning substantive support for farmers. We have to support them, engage appropriate law firms that would prepare and conduct the entire process, but at the same time we will also undertake some informational activities to somehow convince rural residents to take a different approach, to make them understand that farmers produce for consumers – he added. – It cannot be that we will, that at some point we will impose a ban on agricultural production.
The Minister also announced that the case of Szymon Kluka will be discussed in the Agriculture Committee next week.