News Drought
Poland pledges 458 million euros drought aid
Farmers in Poland can count on drought support of 1.000 zlotys per hectare (€229 per hectare). Mateusz Morawiecki, the country's prime minister, announced this. In order to receive the amount, a damage threshold of 70% must be achieved.
Morawiecki expects the aid to cost the state treasury 1 to 2 billion zloty. Converted from €229 to €458 million. According to him, it should ensure that Polish farmers do not live in poverty. "The Polish state is there to support the agricultural sector in difficult times. In our economic development plan, the agricultural sector is at the top of the priority list."
Rural Stimulated
This move is in line with the government policy of the PiS government. Morawiecki's party is doing everything it can to ensure that the countryside does not run dry. Villages are financially supported so that they remain attractive to live in. During a speech, he stated that the ambition is to export Polish agricultural products more and more to the west. At the same time, he wants to ban the import of Western products, so that there is always Polish food on the table.
In addition to the payment of drought aid, the funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are also paid out early. Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski announced this. The payment of the grants will start in September. Several European countries have insisted on this.
Ardanowski also announced that farmers can receive financial support for investing in irrigation and water storage. A project will be launched in 2020 to realize this, involving a total of 14 billion zloty. In addition, the state offers financial support for liming agricultural land, cleaning up plastic, asbestos and improving the farmer's position in the chain.
Polish Agriculture Commissioner in the making
It is possible that we will notice much more Polish influences in Europe in the coming years. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission and successor to Jean-Claude Juncker, has offered Poland the agricultural portfolio of the EC. Polish European Commissioner candidate Krzysztof Szczerski, who is eligible for the position, has withdrawn from the candidacy. to own say he does not have sufficient agricultural knowledge to take on the file. The current European Commissioner for Agriculture is Phil Hogan.
Szczerski does understand the importance of the portfolio for the country and has already discussed this with von der Leyen. In his view, colleague Janusz Wojciechowski is better suited to the task. Wojciechowski is currently President of the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The politician has a strong interest in agriculture and food prices, making the position a good fit for him.
The biggest challenge for a Polish agricultural commissioner is the reform of the CAP. Poland is the largest recipient of CAP subsidies. 40% of the total budget goes to this country. Neighboring countries such as the Czech Republic and Romania have shown a strong interest in the energy portfolio, which means that there is a good chance that Poland will be able to supply the agricultural commissioner.
Niels van der Boom
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