It is a tradition that each country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union organises a conference for the agricultural directors of the Community Paying Agencies. In view of the above, the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, the largest agricultural paying agency of the European Union, organised the 57th Conference of EU Paying Agency Directors on 5–7 May. The representatives of the candidate countries for the Community – Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey – were also invited to it. The major element of the conference was a two-day meeting – on 6 and 7 May at the PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw.

We focus on food security

During the conference, among others, the topic of food security – a horizontal priority in the area of agriculture, was raised.

– The profession of farmer in Poland plays a key role in ensuring food security in our country, as well as in protecting the environment and preserving traditional cultural values. Agriculture is a profession full of responsibility and passion, which deserves recognition and respect – stressed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski.

The events of recent weeks – foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza – indicate how important food security is. It is underpinned by an efficient animal identification and registration system. Thanks to the information contained in this system, it is possible to quickly identify an animal that became ill, as well as to determine a herd with which it had contact, which allows to quickly prevent the spread of the disease. The Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture is responsible for the maintenance and functioning of this register. During the conference, the ARMA experts talked about the practical, economic and social aspects of maintaining that database.

International cooperation

Participation in the dialogue with European paying agencies or EU institutions is not only an opportunity to exchange experience, but also an opportunity to jointly develop solutions responding to the challenges that modern agriculture faces.

– One of the challenges is social changes taking place in rural areas. They concern, among others, the socio-economic structure or the number of farms. On the one hand, there are processes of concentration and disagrarisation, since more and more rural residents find jobs outside the farm, on the other hand – the number of rural residents coming from cities is growing. These are issues that we must not forget during the talks about the future of Polish agriculture – said the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Stefan Krajewski.

In addition, the conference participants shared their experience in implementing support mechanisms and stressed that their purpose, efficiency and proper use were essential. They also discussed on how to prevent the creation of artificial conditions when using EU support. It was stressed that the Common Agricultural Policy should strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of European agriculture while promoting the sustainable development of rural areas. Therefore, of key importance are: simplification of the rules, adequate financing and taking into account the future enlargement of the Union.

– During our Presidency of the Council of the EU, we continue the discussion on simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy. Thanks to our involvement in the EU, a number of changes have already been introduced. Together with the ARMA representatives we listen to the opinions of farmers and cooperate for the benefit of the Community – added Minister Czesław Siekierski.

We have been in the EU for 21 years

On 1 May 2004, Poland joined the European Community. Since then, our country has had access to EU aid programmes. The distribution of support to the agricultural and fisheries sectors is the responsibility of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture – the largest agricultural paying agency in the EU.

– These three decades and about half a trillion PLN granted to the development of the Polish countryside – this is the shortest record of the history of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture. What exactly is behind these figures? Almost 862 thousand new machines and devices on farms, more than 2.5 times increase in income of agricultural families, 3.7 thousand modern processing plants, 10 times increase in the export value of agri-food products, 9 thousand km of new local roads, 30 thousand km of water and sewage networks, unemployment level reduced from 17.6% to 3.3%. These are the effects of changes in Polish agriculture and rural areas, which were possible thanks to financial support from ARMA – said the President of ARMA Wojciech Legawiec.

The conference was also an excellent opportunity for the representatives of EU institutions to experience traditional Polish hospitality and visit scientific institutions operating in the agricultural sector. During the event, the participants visited the Experimental Orchard of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the Center of Translational Medicine of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, attended the concert of the State Folk Ensemble of Song and Dance “Mazowsze”.

Another, 58th Conference of EU Paying Agency Directors will be hosted by Denmark.

A detailed program of the conference is available at: https://polish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/pl/wydarzenia/57-konferencja-dyrektorow-agencji-platniczych-ue/

Photos from the conference are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/poland25eu/albums/72177720325932959/