Polish farmers hope for brighter future in EU

MILEWO – Wieslaw Kaczynski, a dairy farmer from northeast Poland, has just returned from a crash course on how to make the most of European Union subsidies.

He still has fears on how EU entry will affect his farm, which produces 80 000 litres of milk a year, but the official guidance on EU subsidies has given him hope. Prospects of quick cash from the EU are turning many of Poland’s traditionally eurosceptic farmers into cautious supporters of membership of the bloc, officials say.”I have already used EU funds and I know the Union does not bite.After the training many of my neighbours have also begun to understand that entry may be a real chance,” Kaczynski said.Just four weeks before Poland joins the EU, hundreds of officials from Polish farm agencies are scouring the countryside in a last-minute dash to help farmers understand how to apply for billions of euros of EU cash.Two million farm owners in Poland, the EU’s biggest new member and largest farm sector, qualify for payments of 119 euro (US$146,6) per hectare of land in direct subsidies.Even the relatively low development of Polish farms can be a benefit, given increasing consumer interest in organic produce.”If the system works, we can benefit from a heritage of delay in development – our environment is less polluted, our food is healthier and agro-tourism is another chance,” says Jan Ardanowski, head of the national Farmers’ Chamber.On the flip side, some 400 meat processing plants will be closed by May 1 for failing to meet EU food safety regulations.Thousands have already modernised or will modernise shortly.Small pig and poultry farmers could also struggle in the EU, because the sectors do not receive direct subsidies in the bloc.But experts say that after remaining duties on Polish food exports to the EU are lifted on accession day, their volume can double in just two years, with poultry, milk products and vegetables likely to lead the charge.-Nampa-ReutersProspects of quick cash from the EU are turning many of Poland’s traditionally eurosceptic farmers into cautious supporters of membership of the bloc, officials say.”I have already used EU funds and I know the Union does not bite.After the training many of my neighbours have also begun to understand that entry may be a real chance,” Kaczynski said.Just four weeks before Poland joins the EU, hundreds of officials from Polish farm agencies are scouring the countryside in a last-minute dash to help farmers understand how to apply for billions of euros of EU cash.Two million farm owners in Poland, the EU’s biggest new member and largest farm sector, qualify for payments of 119 euro (US$146,6) per hectare of land in direct subsidies.Even the relatively low development of Polish farms can be a benefit, given increasing consumer interest in organic produce.”If the system works, we can benefit from a heritage of delay in development – our environment is less polluted, our food is healthier and agro-tourism is another chance,” says Jan Ardanowski, head of the national Farmers’ Chamber.On the flip side, some 400 meat processing plants will be closed by May 1 for failing to meet EU food safety regulations.Thousands have already modernised or will modernise shortly.Small pig and poultry farmers could also struggle in the EU, because the sectors do not receive direct subsidies in the bloc.But experts say that after remaining duties on Polish food exports to the EU are lifted on accession day, their volume can double in just two years, with poultry, milk products and vegetables likely to lead the charge.-Nampa-Reuters