AEIAR General Assembly and Study Visit in Riga, Latvia
10.06.2025
The European Association of Rural Land Management Administrations (AEIAR) was founded in 1966 and is one of the oldest European associations; its current members include agencies from the following countries: Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, Latvia, and Spain. Poland has been an active member of AEIAR since 2003. Membership in AEIAR provides opportunities for the exchange of information among European countries regarding the current situation in the agricultural land market and experiences in the management of state-owned agricultural land.
On June 4–6, 2025, representatives of KOWR participated in the annual AEIAR General Assembly and Study Days, which took place in Riga. The National Support Centre for Agriculture was represented by: Mr. Tomasz Ciodyk—Deputy Director General—Mr. Bogdan Podgórski, and Ms. Magdalena Zawadzka from the Agricultural Property Stock Management Department.
On June 5, a study trip was organized to the Mazsalijas farm. It is a family-run farm that specializes in viticulture and livestock production—fish, chickens, and rabbits.
This was followed by a roundtable working session on the European Land Observatory project, developed by AEiAR and FAO, which calls for European Union countries to implement a joint collection of information on land market dynamics, such as: sales prices, lease rents, access to land for young farmers, and the transfer of land owned by corporations, including the trading of shares. The “European Land Observatory” document will be based on information already collected by agencies and institutions at the EU and national levels, such as Eurostat, statistical offices, and other institutions possessing data and expertise on agricultural land transactions.
Representatives from Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy gave presentations on access to the above information in their respective countries.
On June 6, during the General Assembly, a meeting of the AEIAR Executive Board was held, followed by the conference, where representatives of AEIAR, DG FISMA (Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union) and CEJA (Young Farmers) discussed the issue of access to agricultural land, the right of first refusal regarding agricultural land and shares in commercial companies in individual EU countries.
