INTERVIEWS AHEAD OF KRYNICA FORUM 2023

Paweł Musiałek, The President of the Jagiellonian Club: KF 2023 will be a place of creative debate

‘What is absolutely pivotal for us is the honest inclusivity of the debate, the ability to listen to people who are not necessarily close to us on the ideological spectrum but who are able to say something inspiring, interesting, shedding new light on certain issues. We are going to do everything we can to make this formula – an open, honest and cultured debate, exchange of views, often diametrically opposed, while upholding standards which today are, sadly, rare – the Krynica Forum claim to fame,’ says Paweł Musiałek, the president of the Jagiellonian Club which is the Krynica Forum content partner.

 
Defying the bleak visions concocted before Poland acceded to the European Union, Polish agriculture has been doing absolutely fine on the EU market. But did the Polish rural areas find their footing in the Union?

It makes a lot of sense that you distinguish the two. So did our experts, in fact, as they prepared a multidimensional report Time to Integrate: Challenges and Opportunities for the Countryside and Agriculture in Poland (in Polish) and put forward crucial takeaways.

What is the first one?

Among all the economic sectors, Polish agriculture did fear joining the EU the most, but in the end it was one of the largest beneficiaries after the accession. With skilful acquisition and use of EU funds, food production developed many strong subsectors, exports diversified a great deal and expanded massively, especially in recent times, positively ballooning over just a few years. In EU markets, we are playing in the big league.

Sounds good. And the second takeaway?

This one is a bit less cheerful, because it has to do with numerous challenges that await Polish agriculture in the years to come. The main is of course the European Green Deal (EGD), meaning a comprehensive concept to shift the economic-growth paradigm in the European Union. Once it is deployed, the consequences will be enormous, and the associated challenges for the agricultural holdings can’t be met without immense investment. We notice in our report that, e.g., with agricultural production as fragmented as in Poland, very many farms lack the financial capacity to make such investment.

What can we conclude, then?

Our main recommendation following this diagnosis is to go in the direction of sector integration, both vertical – from the farmer to the processor to the retailer – and horizontal, involving very close co-operation of small agricultural entities to increase their economic power and capability to jostle for getting bigger margins. This way, they will gain the opportunity to invest to lower their carbon footprint, which in turn will allow them to reach the EGD requirements and goals.

You mentioned that the challenges and opportunities for the food production should be separated from those of the rural areas.

Yes, since the percentage of rural residents engaged in agriculture keeps decreasing. Today it is around 10 per cent. So Polish villages, in fact, are hardly farming villages anymore. Besides, other important social processes are taking place. On the one hand, very many city dwellers are moving there – and this influx of population is changing the social structure profoundly, which does have many consequences. On the other hand, especially around the former state-owned farms, a number of villages are depopulating fast. True, the infrastructure there is good, but even the nicest roads and pavements won’t replace the social fabric. The roads are empty, because few live there and few drive there. What is more, by and large in many hamlets only the elderly remain, and they are less and less self-sufficient. The young people packed up and left, the generational continuity is broken. This is another actual challenge which as a state and society we should be able to meet.

This is just one of the topics that the Jagiellonian Club is coming to the Krynica Forum 2023 with – to inspire and jump-start a serious discussion.

That’s true. Some joke that the Jagiellonian Club is made up of people not so much specialising in any particular area as having expertise in general issues. But this is a huge advantage in the contemporary world. We need good public policies today, and – given the complexity of what surrounds us – only the people with analytical minds, able to glean and integrate knowledge from many fields, can come up with these. It is not about gazing on and on at a single piece of the jigsaw puzzle but about knowing how to put all the pieces sensibly together. Which is the kind of experts who we are trying to assemble in our Club and who are engaged in content-based work for Krynica Forum 2023.

What is KF 2023 supposed to be?

We are convinced it will be a great space for honest and creative public debate. The Jagiellonian Club plays the role of both an intellectual hub and a knowledge and idea evangelist. In doing so, we are trying, even though today it is harder than ever, to remove major social and civilisational issues from the fray of fleeting political contexts and soaring emotions. What is absolutely pivotal for us is the honest inclusivity of the debate, the ability to listen to people who are not necessarily close to us on the ideological spectrum but who are able to say something inspiring, interesting, shedding new light on certain issues. We are going to do everything we can to make this formula – an open, honest and cultured debate, exchange of views, often diametrically opposed, while upholding standards which today are, sadly, rare – the Krynica Forum claim to fame.

The Jagiellonian Club is Krynica Forum 2023 content partner. Over 20 Club-affiliated experts are going to participate in the panels dedicated to various thematic streams. In addition, the Forum will feature two partner panels dedicated to the conclusions of the JC Analysis Centre report Time to Integrate: Challenges and Opportunities for the Countryside and Agriculture in Poland.