President Andrzej Duda said that Poland is absolutely self-sufficient in terms of food production. He emphasized that Polish agriculture has so far been able to meet all the needs generated by Polish market. 

“Fortunately, we have a safe situation in Poland. There is no war in our country, we do not participate in the war, but the war obviously affects us”, stressed the president before the meeting of the Council for Agriculture and Rural Areas of the National Development Council. He added that Polish imports from Ukraine and Russia were not large. 

“We are a country that is fortunate enough to be absolutely self-sufficient in terms of food production. Our agriculture has so far been able to meet all the needs generated by our market. We were not a major food importer; on the contrary, we were a major food exporter. So, it can also be said that from this point of view, foreign markets will be even more receptive to our products than it has been so far”, stressed the president. 

Andrzej Duda noted that the consequences of the war in Ukraine greatly affect Polish farmers. It is mainly about an increase in the prices of fertilizers, an increase in the prices of plant protection chemicals, an increase in fuel prices, and an increase in the prices of all energy sources. 

“Therefore, this is a very serious situation and there is no doubt that it will have an absolute impact not only on the situation of Polish agriculture, but it will undoubtedly have a wider impact on the situation of the Polish countryside”, he noted. 

According to the president, in the current situation, it is necessary to act responsibly as governance involves not only reacting to what has already happened, but most of all going forward and anticipating what might happen, taking various actions and remedial steps. 

Arkadiusz Słomczyński