Agriculture

Even though we chiefly associate Microsoft, Google, Amazon or Facebook with the content that appears across most screens every single day, the very same tech giants will soon indirectly appear… on our plates. While doing so, they will also strengthen the agro-food sector that has long needed a fundamental makeover.

The pandemic, an increase in energy prices, a 400% rise in the price of artificial fertilisers, and then the war in Ukraine – in the face of these events, questions about the future of farming in Poland and the EU are most definitely justified. Will this future see agriculture’s continued dependence on importing fertilisers and the gas necessary to produce them? It’s high time that we began to consider public support for moving away from mineral fertilisers. The viability of this move is obvious when we appreciate that food security depends on protecting natural resources and a stable climate.  

On 31 March 2022, the 19 EU Member States that submitted their CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs) by the 1 January 2022 deadline received their awaited Observation Letters. In this article we discuss the implications of the European Commission backtracking on a transparent process and explore the content of Observation Letters that have been partially released.

Polish farmers should not be afraid of the Green Deal, nor of the pro-ecological solutions being planned for the EU’s agricultural policy, because they are an opportunity for them, not a threat, argues Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture during a Citizens' Dialogue. He believes that the epidemic has shown highly intensive agriculture to be more susceptible to crises. The online meeting with the public was held on April 30.