Poland: agricultural news week 27, 2021
Where one farmer is trying to protect its crops against hailstorms, the other is looking into the sky to see if finally some rain will come... this week you can read about the agricultural drought risk in Poland, in some areas occuring even in 11 crops, while in the east farmers are looking for compensation of their ruined apple orchards after hailstorms. Also this week: the market for sustainable food is rising, giving a new business opportunity.
Agricultural drought risk
The Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation (IUNG) published this week their latest report about the Climatic Water Balance till June 30 in Poland. Based on soil categories, it determines the current state of agricultural drought risk in all communes.
From May 1 to June 30, 2021, the average value of the Climatic Water Balance (CWB), on the basis of which the assessment of the risk of drought is made, was negative and amounted to -101 mm. In the current sixty-day period (April 21-June 20), the CWB value increased by 7 mm compared to the previous period.
But the differences in the country and in time vary a lot, both in temperature as in precipitation. In most of the country, this year's May rainfall was 100% and sometimes even 150% of the long-term norm, besides the fact that it was relatively cold. However in the first week of June, very low precipitation, not exceeding 5 mm, was recorded throughout the country, and in some places it did not occur at all.
By far the greatest water shortages were recorded in the north where drought occurred in as many as 11 crops. The greatest extent of agricultural drought occurred among spring cereals. Drought in these crops was recorded in 750 municipalities (30.28% of Polish municipalities). Drought was recorded in the area of 8.43% of Poland's arable land (a decrease by 3.7 percentage points compared to the previous reporting period).
Full report with detailed data per crop can be found here: Klimatyczny Bilans Wodny za okres od od 1 maja do 30 czerwca 2021 – IUNG
Compensation after hailstorm?
In June, severe hailstorms with strong winds hit the Lublin region in the east of Poland. The storms destroyed buildings and crops, especially apple orchards but also hop plantations which are widely present in that region. According to the presservice of the Polish president, the damage is so severe that it is not known whether the apple and hop harvest will take place this year in the hit area.
Minister Puda said that he is checking the possibilities of increasing the aid by additional funds and that he will review crop insurance in Poland in the near future.
Market for sustainable food
The Association of Sustainable Agriculture in Poland “ASAP”, published a report about the prospects for the development of sustainable food in Poland. The research showed that:
- 3/4 of the Poles are interested in buying products of sustainable agriculture.
- 73% of the respondents are ready to pay up to 20% more for these products.
- In the medium term, the market for such products has the potential to reach PLN 64.6 billion (€ 14.2 mld).
With the growing awareness of consumers about the role of food in their lives and the simultaneous desire to protect the climate and the environment, and maintain acceptable food prices, a new business opportunity has emerged. Consumers realize that such products will cost more than conventionally produced ones, and are willing to pay more for them, albeit less than for organic food. According to ASAP, sustainable food, due to its better adjustment to the preferences of Polish consumers - high quality, pro-environmental production, as well as affordable price - can get a much larger market than organic farming products have been able to do so far.
Read the full report (in Polish) here: Polskie Stowarzyszenie Rolnictwa Zrównoważonego „ASAP” (rolnictwozrownowazone.pl)
Interested in the organic market in Poland? Read our latest market study here