Flood losses in agricultural production. There will be more funds for the losses fund

“In the Silesian province, there are losses in crop production and animal feed production caused by flooding. Currently, there are not such large flood losses as in the Lower Silesian and Opole provinces,” said Czesław Siekierski, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, quoted in the ministry's press release, after a meeting in Katowice with farmers from the Silesian Agricultural Chamber and employees of subordinate inspections. As reported, the meeting was also attended by Wiktor Szmulewicz, president of the National Council of Agricultural Chambers (KRIR).

“The damage to agriculture is serious. We are monitoring and assessing the situation in the southern regions of Poland. We plan to increase the funds for the loss fundto more effectively support farms affected by disasters. We must ensure the stability of agricultural production,” Siekierski pointed out.

The Minister stressed that in the current situation in Poland it is important designation of areas, including agricultural ones, that can function as floodplains“In the face of difficult water conditions in agriculture, we must act on many fronts. We are working on comprehensive solutions to better manage water in crisis situations,” he said.

As stated in the press release, Siekierski emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development wants to introduce changes that will be beneficial for farmers and will not limit them. “We invite all farmers and representatives of inspections and institutions related to agriculture – the National Support Center for Agriculture, the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture and Agricultural Advisory Centers – to the talks – emphasized the head of the ministry.

The Minister stated that the current data collection system by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) is “inadequate” and requires updating. “Our statistics, regarding for example the state of grain stocks, are unreliable. The assessments of various institutions in this respect differ greatly, among others due to the lack of records of stocks in private warehouses. We must work on changing the method of examining the actual state of affairs in agriculture,” said Minister Siekierski, quoted in the press release.

Read also: Government aid for flood victims. How to apply?

During the meeting, Minister Siekierski raised the issue of land lease based on an oral agreement between farmers. “Our goal is to create an act that will regulate issues related to the oral agricultural land lease agreement, so that there are no formal problems regarding, among others, the possibility of receiving subsidies or using KRUS,” he assured.

The Minister referred to the problems that Polish farmers have been facing in recent years, pointing out primarily the low profitability of agricultural production caused by high energy prices and fertilizers, and low grain prices. “We must remember that these prices are largely shaped by world markets, which have been shaken by the war in Ukraine,” Siekierski noted.

In the opinion of the Minister of Agriculture, the “irrational” requirements of the Green Deal were also burdensome for farmers. “The original provisions of the Green Deal, established by the previous government, led to an increase in the costs of agricultural production and an administrative burden on European farmers,” said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. He recalled that the protests of Polish and European farmers and the involvement of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen made it possible to transform the Green Deal into the Agricultural Green Deal. “Today, the solutions proposed by Poland are formally binding in the EU,” he added.

As reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the meeting also discussed the structure of agricultural production, the fight against African swine fever (ASF) and biosecurity, assistance for farmers affected by frost and hail, assistance for affected agricultural producers in paying agricultural tax for 2024, drought and the draft act on Rural Women's Associations.

The ministry's statement said that Siekierski also met with farmers from the Małopolska Agricultural Chamber at the Congress Center of the University of Agriculture in Krakow. They discussed the current situation related to the flood in the southern provinces, as well as the prepared directional solutions for agriculture.