Agriculture needs a stable access to water

What are we facing?

Access to water in agriculture is a necessity. Without it, there can be no agricultural production. Unfortunately, the worsening climate catastrophe means that rainfall patterns are becoming less favourable, heat waves more intense, and drought periods are longer.

What is the situation in our country?

Poland's water resources are among the smallest in Europe. Even in years of abundant rainfall, our water resources per capita are 2 times lower than the average for the whole of Europe. However, when there is a year with a long period of drought, our water resources fall below the threshold indicating the threat of water deficit.

How do politicans face the facts?

There is a lack of proper water management, which deepens the crisis. Most of the land reclamation in Poland was done years ago and focused on draining water and drying the land. This allows water to escape more quickly into rivers and the Baltic Sea.

How can we resolve these problems?

We need to develop a system of financial support for farmers in order to facilitate modernization that enables responsible water management. For example, farmers should receive money for leaving 10% of their farmland for wetlands, tree belts or streamside buffer strips, as places that contribute to the protection of water quantity and quality. Among other things, these are the measures proposed in the Pact for Agriculture that we recently promoted.