Agriculture plays a very important role in 10 new member
countries’ economies. The average share of agriculture in the total land area
averages around 50%, from almost 63% in Hungary to 14.5% in Cyprus. The average
share of gross domestic product (GDP) is about 4.4% ranging from 7.5% in
Lithuania to 2.5% in Malta(1). Poland has the largest agricultural area of all
the new Member States, with 18.4 million ha, its 59% share of area and 3.3% of
its GDP. Farms are still the biggest employers – the average share of the
sector in total employment in the region is 9.9%. This ranges from 19.6% in
Lithuania to 1.8% in Malta. In Poland, 18.8% are employed in agriculture and 38%
of the population live in rural areas.
The last decade was not very profitable for the CEEC
agriculture sector as the political and economic changes that took place caused
financial problems for the majority of farmers. Holdings are generally
undercapitalised and their machinery and equipment are mostly outdated. The cost
of inputs and credit increased while agricultural income fell during the
transition period, leading to a decline in intensity of production. This
situation resulted in reduced agricultural investment and lower pesticide and
fertilisers use. For example, in Poland average consumption of fertiliser
stabilised at a level of 80 kg/ha and pesticide use at about 0.5 kg/ha yearly.
More recently, it has tended to increase again.
Usage trends in Poland
Cereals and potatoes are the most widely cultivated
crops in Poland. Poland is the second biggest producer of potatoes in Europe. In
2002 the use of pesticides on potatoes was monitored for 7,500 farmers via
obligatory record-keeping. Average use was 3.5 kg/ha active ingredient. However,
in the western part of Poland with more intensive production it averaged 6
kg/ha, while smaller farms in the east averaged only 1.5 kg/ha.
Agricultural systems in the region are not uniform. Nearby
small (10-20 ha) and very small farms (less than 5 ha) there could be big
holdings of thousands of hectares. Poland differs from several of its CEEC
neighbours because land was not collectivised into state farms. Most farmland is
still in private hands, farms are small, multifunctional and land management is
extensive. In 2000 the average acreage of a Polish farm was 9.6 hectares (with
8.5 ha of arable land), compared to an average acreage of 18.4 hectares in the
European Union. Of the 1.88 million agricultural holdings, over 1.06 million
were less than 5 ha and only 12 larger than 50 ha(2). Especially small,
extensive farms are characterised by rich biodiversity as well as traditional
landscape. Those values could be lost if farmers decide to intensify their
production or if the economic situation forces them to abandon farming. The area
of abandoned farmland is increasing in Poland, as well as in other new Member
States.
The quality of groundwater and surface waters, is likely to
have improved following the reduction in use of fertilisers and pesticides. This
is an important factor for natural areas adjacent to farmland, wetlands, brooks
and rivers, the Black Sea and Baltic Sea. While the state of the overall
physical environment in general has improved, biodiversity on farmland has
remained under pressure during the last decade, particularly from land
abandonment. In the future, both abandonment and intensification are likely to
be the main threats in the region(3).
On 1 May, EU enlarged and new Member States came under the
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) where three trends are still valid:
intensification, specialisation and marginalisation. Recent CAP reforms give
hope for more sustainable agriculture. For new Member States these could mean
that it would be better to join this trend and lobby for a more environmentally
friendly CAP in the future. Unfortunately it seems that the main obstacle to
sustainable development of rural areas in CEEC is the low level of environmental
awareness and knowledge on the part of decision makers and farmers(4).
European officials do not expect dramatic increase in
agricultural production – the negotiations very strictly defined the levels as
well as the structure of payments(5). The structure of CAP payments in old and
new Member States differs significantly. Farmers in the old EU will receive farm
subsidies of 378 Euros per ha during 2004-06, while the 10 new members will get
a mere 115 Euros per ha. The latter will get much less money from the pillar one
of CAP (direct payments mostly) and relatively more from the pillar two (money
for rural development).
Future for family farms
Enlargement has brought new instruments for
environmental services in rural areas. This model should encourage small farmers
in particular to join sustainable agriculture movements as well as looking for
diversified sources of income. While many farms that are reliant on low levels
of inputs could convert to organic production relatively easily, it is important
to consider other aspects of the supply chain. The higher standards demanded by
the EU market often cannot be met without new capital and human investment. The
benefits of a sustained ecologically sensitive farming system should be felt in
terms of increased farm income and added value in the supply chain, as well as
in higher standards of nature conservation. In Poland, organic agriculture has
developed since 1990, and in 2001 official state support for organic farming
began with subsidies per hectare dependant on crop type. The number of farms
converting to organic farming has increased tremendously yet organic farming
only accounts for 1% of cultivated acreage. The figure is similar across new
Member States. Organic production is still seen as marginal and many
policymakers and businessmen are promoting intensification measures instead.
Small and medium family farms are common in the CEEC. They
sustain agricultural landscapes, high biodiversity and provide more jobs but
cannot compete with large-scale, intensive farms. Without support, these farms
will disappear. Farmers in the CEEC need to be treated equally in terms of
direct CAP payments too. Agri-environment programmes in high natural value areas
are likely to be the best tool for reversing the decline in rural areas. A big
challenge is whether older, less well educated farmers will be able to take up
these opportunities.
References:
1. The CAPacity building manual, document prepared for the conference ‘EU Accession and Agriculture – Making CAP work for people and environment’, 6-8 November 2003, Krakow, Poland.
2. Pesticides in Central and Eastern European Countries. Usage, Registration, Identification and Evaluation: Poland. PAN Germany, 2003. www.pan-germany.org
3.Agriculture and the environment in the EU accession countries. Implications of applying the EU common agriculture policy, Environmental issue report No37, European Environment Agency, 2004.
4. M. Staniszewska, E. Hajduk, Potential Impacts of a Reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), in Jakob Lau Holst (eds), Closing the Gap – North-South views on reform of the European Common Agriculture policy and the need for a Global Deal, The Danish Society for the Conservation of Nature, 2001.
5. L. Marangoni, Towards sustainable agriculture: the role of CAP reform, conference papers for the conference ‘EU Accession and Agriculture – Making CAP work for people and environment’, 6-8 November 2003, Krakow, Poland.
Ewa Hajduk works for the Polish Ecological Club (Friends of the Earth Poland) which promotes organic farming and alternatives to intensive rural policy., biuro@pkegliwice.pl, www.pkegliwice.pl
[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 64, June 2004, page 8-9]