In his speech, Minister Ardanowski emphasised that the measures prepared by the European Commission to support certain markets (milk and meat) are insufficient. This aid is too small in terms of the amount and scope of sectors to be supported. Further action in other sectors and larger budgetary resources are needed.

“We need great activity and effective cooperation of Member States and Brussels. I'd like to thank to the Commission for providing for market aid quickly. I’d like to present Poland's proposals which should be introduced in order to counteract this difficult situation which the entire European Union has found itself in. I believe that it's necessary to support markets both through financial inclusion and through the extension to new sectors,” the Minister said.

The Minister emphasised that the European Commission did not take into account the need to support the poultry sector, postulated by Poland many times, e.g. in the form of aid for private storage.

In Poland, other sectors not covered by the aid are faced with a more and more difficult situation. First of all, the already mentioned poultry, and recently pigmeat.

From mid-March to the end of April this year, the purchase price for broilers decreased about 14%, and compared to the price from the previous year 16%. At the turn of April and May this year, a rapid drop in purchase prices for pig livestock was also recorded – of 7.4% on a weekly basis and 12.5% on a monthly basis. Currently, prices are even lower. Aid for private storage of poultry meat and pigmeat should be mobilised immediately.

Minister Ardanowski stressed that in the current crisis situation of agriculture, mobilisation of the crisis reserve from the EU budget is justified. It will give farmers the opportunity to survive this difficult period and help stop the collapse of agricultural holdings in the EU.

“I believe that it's necessary to mobilise the European Union's crisis reserve. If in the current situation we’re not dealing with a crisis, then what is this reserve even for? If not now, then when? This reserve should be mobilised now,” the Minister emphasised.

Similar opinions on this matter were also expressed by the agriculture ministers of other EU countries, including France.

The crisis reserve was created in the budget of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in the event of major crises affecting the production or distribution of agricultural products. Undoubtedly, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic meet the conditions for its mobilisation.

The Minister also noted that the losses of agricultural producers, groups of agricultural producers and entities purchasing and processing agricultural products may be reduced through financial support in the form of subsidies. Such a subsidy could be used for ongoing service of financial obligations due to loans taken for investment in development and for partial compensation of lost revenues due to the inability to carry out contracts during the period of restrictions in international trade.

In a period of economic downturn, these entities will be the first to feel the effects of restrictions and may be at risk of bankruptcy. This concerns the market for beef, milk, ornamental plants and growers of mushrooms for export, and in particular the poultry market which was not included in the package of aid for private storage of meat.

As part of the search for funds for necessary measures, Minister Ardanowski supported the proposal to allocate 1% of the allocation from the current RDP 2014-2020 as a lump sum for sectors in financial difficulties. He appealed to raise this budget to 2% of RDP funds, as losses in the food sector in Poland cover a large group of entities from the entire food chain, including small farms. Appropriate budget size will allow farmers and enterprises in rural areas to maintain financial liquidity.

In addition, Polish Minister of Agriculture pointed out that it is necessary to raise the limits of de minimis aid so that in the future aid may be mobilised according to the scale of needs in a given country.

Looking for further sources of financing aid for farmers, Minister Ardanowski proposed that support for sectors in difficulty (e.g. lamb, beef) be increased by increasing the amount of aid under payments related to production.

“To this end, we should strengthen this instrument and enable Member States to increase the pool of funds available for this purpose already in 2020. Such a solution doesn't involve any additional financial resources from the EU budget, but gives a chance of help in the sectors most affected by the crisis,” Ardanowski said.