It was the second meeting at the level of Ministers of Agriculture under the Polish Presidency of the Visegrad Group. Due to the epidemic situation and the restrictions in place in Europe, the ministerial discussions took place in the form of a video conference.

Challenges of the Farm to Fork Strategy

The main subject of the discussions comprised the opportunities and challenges for farms in the GV4+4 countries in the light of the Farm to Fork Strategy. Presenting the position, Minister Grzegorz Puda stressed that the primary task of agriculture is to produce food and ensure food security for citizens. According to the Minister, the European Union should make an important contribution to global food security. Thus, in further work at EU and national level, it needs to be ensured that the proposed transformation of the food system does not restrict agricultural production in the EU and does not undermine the competitiveness of the EU agricultural sector.

- The burden of implementation of the ambitious objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy needs to be evenly distributed among all links of the chain, and the responsibility must not fall only on agricultural producers, especially those small and medium-sized - said Grzegorz Puda.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture stressed that it is crucial to create such support mechanisms which will enable farms to fully exploit their potential in terms of transition to sustainable food systems.

In the conclusion of their discussions on this matter, the Ministers of Agriculture of the Visegrad Group countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania adopted a "Joint declaration on opportunities and challenges for farms in the light of the Farm to Fork Strategy". The document summarises the common demands of our region in this regard and will be submitted by the GV4 Polish Presidency to the European Commission, so that the agreed position can be taken into account as fully as possible within the framework of work on the EU forum.

Strategic plans for the Common Agricultural Policy

The second subject of discussions covered the Strategic Plans of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Ministers exchanged their experiences in the field of national preparation and the manner of addressing the recommendations of the European Commission by the individual countries.

Minister Grzegorz Puda pointed out that we treat the European Commission's recommendations as setting the direction in which we should be heading if we want to be part of the implementation of the objectives of the Green Deal. Poland expects the Commission, when assessing the final version of our Plan, to take into account only the requirements and objectives set out in the legislation.

- Our approach to execution of the Green Deal is to implement Pillar I and Pillar II interventions that address the need to reduce the use of fertilisers, pesticides and antibiotics, and to transform agriculture towards a digital economy. On the one hand, these will be instruments that encourage the use of agricultural practices that improve soil, water and air conditions and reduce water consumption. On the other hand, this will be investment support enabling the modernisation of farms and the application of precise technologies, Minister Puda informed.

An important component affecting the achievement of the Green Deal objectives is the transfer of knowledge and the provision of advice that is appropriately tailored to environmental and climate challenges.

Enhancing the organisation of the agricultural sector of GV4+4 countries

The remainder of the meeting was chaired by Ryszard Bartosik - the Secretary of State. The Ministers discussed measures that could be taken to increase the organisation of the agricultural sector of GV4+4 countries. Deputy Minister Bartosik stressed that a single producer is not a significant business partner for a strong and consolidated trade and production environment.

- Intermediaries, who take over a large part of the revenue from the sale of agricultural production, benefit from the lack of cooperation and agreement between agricultural producers. Therefore, in order to effectively counteract the tendencies, it is necessary for farmers to cooperate and create common economic structures, e.g. in the form of producer groups or organisations able to benefit from economies of scale, emphasized Ryszard Bartosik.

BIOEAST Initiative

At the end of today's meeting, the Ministers discussed the status of work and possible directions of development of the BIOEAST Initiative, established in 2016 to shape and develop macro-regional cooperation in the field of research and innovation for agriculture and bioeconomy between Central and Eastern European countries.

Polish presidency of the Visegrad Group

Poland's sixth annual presidency of the Visegrad Group will end on 30 June 2021. It coincided with the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its aim was to conduct a dialogue and initiate actions to put social and economic life in the region back on track, in line with the title and motto of the programme of the Polish presidency of the Visegrad Group.

1 July 2021 Poland will hand over the presidency of the Visegrad Group to Hungary, which will continue to work within this formation.