About the event

The conference was organised on the occasion of the 15th Global Forum on Food and Agriculture (GFFA). It was attended by more than 70 countries and international organisations from around the world - participants of the Forum.

Ministers of Agriculture listened to a recorded message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Zelensky stressed that the world needs more determination and cooperation to stop the negative impact of Russian aggression on the global food market. The Ukrainian President called on the countries present at the Forum to get involved in creating food distribution centres in places that depend on food imports and in all actions for global food security.

Joint communiqué of agriculture ministers

In a joint communiqué, the Ministers of Agriculture set out their stance on the current global crises, following previous intensive and fruitful discussions.

Among other things, the communiqué included the following:

• The vast majority of countries strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing vulnerabilities in the global economy - reducing growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, increasing energy and food insecurity and increasing the risk of financial instability.
• Countries expressed concern about the current decline in global food security. They stated that the current crises are leading to further disruption of global supply chains, contributing to higher prices and volatility of food, commodities, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs, and exacerbating inequality, while the situation has already been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Global food security and sustainability are threatened by climate change and biodiversity loss. Additional pressures on food systems are exerted by land, water and ecosystem degradation, including desertification, salinity intrusion, drought, flooding, deforestation, air and water shortages, air, soil and water pollution, and increasing threats of plant and animal pests and diseases. The consequences of these diverse crises are felt most acutely by the least developed countries. Hunger and malnutrition are already most acutely felt in regions severely affected by the climate crisis.
• Countries stressed the importance of sustainable food systems to address the current food crisis. They expressed the view that this should be tackled in a holistic and integrated manner and committed to doing so. They stressed that multiple problems require a collective commitment by countries to transform our food systems towards greater resilience and sustainability urgently. Countries noted the need to accelerate action and intensify joint efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals progressively.

Discussions on the Ukrainian agriculture in the context of food security

As part of the summit, a meeting was held on the current challenges of Ukrainian agriculture and their impact on global food security. Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk, Ukraine's Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Mykola Solski, representatives of the FAO, the European Commission and Ministers of Agriculture from Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Moldova, France, Italy and Romania participated in these talks.

The Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development expressed the view that efforts should be made to get the international community even more involved in concrete and tangible assistance for Ukrainian farmers than before. It should include the provision of inputs, machinery, fertilisers or veterinary medicines. He assured that Poland would certainly continue these aid activities. Other participants in the meeting also assured of their further support for Ukraine.

The Head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stressed that EU assistance is essential to further improve transport.

"That is why I have approached the European Commission several times on that matter. For example, in November 2022, I informed the Commissioner for Transport of our support for the Ukrainian side's demand for the EU to introduce a mechanism of subsidies to produce means of transport," recalled Deputy Prime Minister Kowalczyk.

He also pointed out the need to take steps to protect markets in countries where cereal imports from Ukraine are distorted.

"I am also counting on the Ukrainian side to make efforts to increase transit shipments of cereals and other agricultural commodities through Poland as a matter of urgency. That would reduce excessive imports into our country. At the same time, it would improve the supply of cereals on third-country markets, contributing to improving global food security," said the Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Talks on the sidelines of the summit

On the sidelines of today's conference, Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk held talks with the agriculture ministers of Moldova and Egypt on cooperation with Poland in agriculture.

The conversation between Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk and Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry of Moldova, took place at the initiative of the Moldovan side. The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development declared his readiness to continue supporting Moldovan efforts to adapt to EU requirements and standards as part of Moldova's integration with the European Union.

The Moldovan side expressed interest in benefiting from Poland's experience in breeding and agri-food processing development. Minister Bolea also encouraged investment in the agricultural sector in Moldova.

During the conversation, Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk and Egypt's Minister of Supply and International Trade Ali El-Moselhi raised the issue of Polish apple exports to Egypt. The Egyptian side further expressed interest in increasing grain supplies from Poland.