The agricultural chambers of the v4 countries call for united action in order to overcome the historic challenges facing the sector

United action can make a difference (Photo: Pixabay)

The agrarian chambers of the Visegrad Four (V4) – the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, the Polish National Council of Agrarian Chambers, the Hungarian National Chamber of Agrarian Economy, and the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food Industry – held their next meeting in Prague on September 14-15, 2022. It was said at the meeting: several, individually serious problems – such as the war raging in the EU’s neighborhood, the energy crisis, inflation, drastically increasing production costs and a drought not seen for decades – have hit the sector together, putting farmers and food businesses. The correct answers to these challenges can only be given with unified action – emphasized in the memorandum drawn up after the meeting the agricultural chambers of the V4 countries, and the representatives of the professional organizations of Estonia, Croatia, Lithuania and Romania joining them. The participants of the meeting drew attention to the fact that the already extremely difficult situation would be further aggravated by the measures planned in the framework of the European Green Agreement, among other things, the reduction of the use of pesticides. The agricultural chambers of the V4 countries therefore reject any idea that would require a further reduction in the use of these agents in member states with pesticide use below the EU average. Furthermore, they called on the European Commission to review the objectives of the “Farmland to Fork” strategy, as their implementation would significantly reduce the competitiveness of the players in the EU agricultural and food economy.

NAK