On 9 November 2023, we took part in a debate as part of the 18th Civic Congress “Poland: New Beginning”, whose guest was the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski. We discussed how to maintain the competitiveness of European agriculture in the perspective of the EU’s green transformation.
The debate was participated by:
- Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture
- Małgorzata Bojańczyk – Director of the Association for Sustainable Food and Agriculture in Poland
- Bartosz Urbaniak, Head of Agro BNP Paribas Banking for Central and Eastern Europe and Africa
Miłosz Szymański, Editor of the Voice of the Civic Congress (Kongres Obywatelski) podcast (moderator).
We need stability for farmers, first and foremost in economic terms, which means a guarantee of agricultural income and legal stability that allows farmers to plan for the long term. In terms of sustainability, European agriculture has made great progress in recent years, thanks in part to the Commission’s policy of using incentives rather than sanctions to transform agriculture. It is worth noting that the Polish strategic plan includes such solutions, for example in the form of eco-schemes such as carbon farming or animal welfare. Poland is a leader in implementing practices to improve animal welfare, such as free-range farming, summer grazing, the use of straw bedding or increasing the space available in livestock buildings. In Poland, more than 100,000 farms have started using these practices.
– emphasised Janusz Wojciechowski during the debate.
Commissioner Wojciechowski pointed out that the vision for the future of agriculture in Europe after 2027, by which time the European Commission has planned the current stage of development of this sector of the economy resulting from the strategic plans adopted by the Member States, should be contained in four main areas – security, stability, sustainability and solidarity (4S). At the same time, according to the European Commission, security should be considered as the most important feature, as agriculture should first and foremost provide food. Therefore, one of the priorities of the EU administration is to analyse all legislation in terms of its long-term impact on food security.
Agriculture must be transformed into a more sustainable sector. For this to happen, agriculture needs to innovate and make greater use of new technologies. This means financial support, but also training for farmers and support for the transition, for example through transition periods when switching to a new production model. But this is not all, because farmers do not operate in isolation from market realities, as they are themselves suppliers. Implementing sustainable food production must therefore include support for all actors in the food chain, including processors and food companies, as well as measures aimed at consumers.
– said Malgorzata Bojańczyk.
Banks finance agriculture over a period of 30 years. This means that we have to analyse the farm in many dimensions. One of them is to check whether the farmer is following the course set by the European Commission and the Common Agricultural Policy. If this is the case, then from the Bank’s point of view we are more certain that a farm that meets these requirements will continue to exist over the next few decades. National and European financial support policies for agriculture, including measures for the transition to sustainability, also play an important role in how agriculture is financed.
– pointed out Bartosz Urbaniak.
The debate of the 18th Civic Congress coincided with the publication of a new issue of the quarterly “Pomeranian Thinkletter” entitled “Polish Agriculture on the Threshold of the Great Transformation” (PDF). The quarterly is published by the Gdańsk Institute for Market Economy. More information is available on the congress website: kongresobywatelski.pl.