Effects of implementation by KOVR of the 54/2024/Z Director of General KOVR of the day 3.10.2024 year, a also activities of Ministry of Agriculture and Development of Village to ensure fair competition between farmers individually, a person right leasing agricultural land from the agricultural property of the government, in this increasing the influence of the authority of agricultural land – these are the themes of yesterday’s sitting of the Sejm committee of agriculture.
Will the impact of the reform have to wait?
According to Jack Czarniak Secretary of State in MIRW, the effects of the mentioned order of KOVR can not be talked about, because they cannot be assessed from the perspective of the short period of regulation. In the opinion of those present at the meeting of individual farmers and representatives of farmers, the effects are already clearly perceptible, because they hinder family farms access to leases of state land and increase areal, despite binding laws.
Jacek Czarniak argued, that with the director general of KOVR had the purpose of unifying the rules of leasing, which had been repeatedly postulated also by individual farmers.
In this order the director general ujednolong term
of lease, which now is from 10 to 20 years, note, for all tenants, without distinguishing whether they are farmers, or other entities. I this is this issue, which has been signaled, which was as if the motive for introducing this order – stated the representative of the department of agriculture.
-There is also a issue of unifying rules for exclusion of other land from the contract, of which has been excluded part of leased real estate under the Act of 16 September 2011. This is the land establishing 30 percent of acreage of agricultural land or under contractual provisions, or at the moment of extension of the contract. I in this order there is a limit, which amounts to 50 percent. surface of prior leased.
Who with him agreed?
-If you express any concern about this director of KOVR, then you must specify, why these concrete concerns, what danger you see – requested from farmers minister Czarniak.
What interesting, the representative of the resort asserted at that “the Director of KOVR has agreed on the content of this order.” Bearing in consideration of the subsequent outrage of agricultural organizations and protestsfarmers (e.g. in the Western Pomeranian and Pomeranian provinces), has not agreed with the most interested in this regulation party of the public. And so with who? Jack Carniak’s statement suggests rather, that… with the minister of agriculture.
Contrary to Constitution
In the opinion of the Silesian Agricultural Chamber, represented on the committee Leszek Wicha, the director of KOVR “stands in contradiction to Article. 23 of the Constitution RP, which establishes family farming as the basis of the agricultural system in Poland.”
-Orders the access of individual farmers to the land, while simultaneously favoring large legal entities, and leads to a series of negative effects – responded Secretary of MRD Leszek Wicha.
These negative effects are, as said Marek Dambiec from Izby Rolnicza in Opole, “blocking development of family farms.” because “young farmers and persons wanting to develop their farms face barriers to increasing their areal.”
Small activities for big, big for small
Big entities with greater financial and organizational capabilities dominate the market. Continuous changes of regulations tilting to the needs of current tenants, induce disapproval among the farming community expressing the willingness and need for development of individual farms and deteriorates the farmers’ trust in state institutions and weakens the Polish rural -. this results from the position of the Polish Island, which was presented by Dambiec.
A prominent example of unequal competition is in the opinion of farmers in the rents. Great rents still pay rates not valorized often for decades while farmers for the same land have to pay sometimes more. In addition on the power of the head of KOVR, companies are extending the deadlines for returning leased land without raising “archaic” rates of rent.
The state budget multiple loses, using the example of a certain company, which has been paying unchanged rent at about 4 decimal, at which renters farmers individual now pay 20 deciton per hectare thundered a local government from Opoland.
In the queue state companies
Farmers have also reminded the resort of agriculture and KOVR, that for the leases of state land they must compete not only with their self and major entities, but also with companies of the State Treasury, to which they willinglytransferred is land from expired leases. And this is despite previous assurances, that the land will transfer to farms for families.
In this context the examples of Combin Kietrz in Poland, OHZ Prudnik in Silesia and OHZ Kamieniec Ząbkowicki in Dolny Silesia.
No clear answer
According to Anna Gembicka, former minister of agriculture with PiS, who was one of the callers of the committee yesterday, farmers still cannot wait for a clear and clear position of the minister of agriculture, on the implementation of the law on exceptions and disposition of state land in the situation, when the term of most contracts for huge areas of land has already expired or will expire.
No response from MRiRW, what further will be with this decree of October 2024. What actions the ministry intends to take, to ensure fair competition between individual farmers, who run family farms, and people who rent land. We know after all, that many contracts for these leases have or are ending and these lands should be distributed to family farms in accordance with the law -. said Gembicka.
“The Ministry of Agriculture fulfills a key role in shaping agricultural policy. However the activities related to land management by KOVR raise founded concerns about the lack of balance between interests of family farms and large entities. And it is necessary there according to us to introduce control mechanisms for the process of extending leases of land, to restrict monopolization of the market by large entities.” – requested from the country authority of agriculture in the presented at the meeting.
Equal to the law
The present on the room representatives of large farmers argued, that the cited by farmers Constitution of the Republic constitutes not only about the farmer regime, but it also guarantees the freedom of economic activity, a law does not exclude such activity in agriculture.
Great rents have in debate arguments of food security, productivity production, innovation and progress in breeding plants and animals. They also pointed to the threat to hundreds of jobs and resources to support many families, when agricultural companies would be forced to limit or abandon production. A frequent issue raised in discussion was also animal production.
.
-The land to individual farmers has flowed for years. I in a strange way does not grow cattle. No grows the breeding or cattle, and the cattle meat. And in the cattle cattle cattle there is the opposite, because the cattle heading is declining. This is such a point to determine how these lands are used by individual farmers – stated Francis Nowak of the Polish Agricultural Association .
Regulations both favorable?
-70 thousand farms are leased to KOVR, of which thousand are companies. And now, when we talk about that, that this 24 regulation is hurtful, that who? It generally acts on the benefit of individual farmers at the occasion of companies – considers from the college Waldemar Rolewski, vice president of Poland Federation of Agriculture.
And how does this prove that? Well a farmer, who has a contract for 8 years and wants to invest in the farm, will be a bank risky customer, in difference to those who have a contract for 20 years.
In consideration of competition from the east
The substantial issue in the debate between individual farmers and large renters has also been the issue of competition in the EU market and with import from Ukraine.
We must invest in pigs, in crops. We must invest in biogas plants. Although those three elements. For all we need money. And while what we are such a classic colony, because we sell 10 million tons of grain, and we buy a pair million tons of pork – remarked Waldemar Rolewski.
Rolewski argued, that the liquidation of large agricultural enterprises in the current situation would significantly deteriorate the competitiveness of Polish agriculture, a taken from their land will not change in the agricultural structure of the country.
W this time people legally lease from KOVR a little over 1% of the land. Do those contracts, which are with legal persons, the state want to cover a million
farms in Poland? O how much areas would increase one farm, if these all contracts were
broken and this land divided between farmers? O 7 acres, please you. This will really
change the agricultural structure? questioned those gathered Leszek Wojciechowski from the Silesian Leaseholders’ Association, a well-known breeders of cattle.
Question of resources
According to Matthew
Kuzniak of the Association of Warmińsko-Mazurskie Agricultural Producers, the law of 2011. clearly determined the rules for major renters. Ci,Who statutory
exclusions 30 proc. grunts have not done, have been aware of consequences and have had time, to get
prepared. If they don’t do – they are to themselves and the people involved.
-Argument for
that you producegoodqualityproducts,agreebutwealsoasfarmersindividuallycandothat,wethatcando,onlywejustlackresources,whichyoudispose- statedafarmerfromWarmińsko-Mazurskie.
-Ifthereisanemployment,thenfarmersafterincreasetheirfarms,theywillhavetoemploypeople,sothosewholosejobsinanycompanies,willfindinotherfarms.Manyfarms,myfriends,havenowproblems,tofindpeopletowork-controvertedMatthewKuzniak.
