Environmental and Climate Challenges to Agriculture in Poland in the Context of Objectives Adopted in the European Green Deal Strategy

Abstract

The European Green Deal strategy, prepared in 2019, involves a number of challenges for European agriculture. These challenges are broadly linked to a need for agriculture to undertake actions in order to improve environmental and climate protection, which will require changes in agricultural practices and the currently observed industrialization processes of agriculture that are destabilizing ecosystems and climate. In view of the diversity of agriculture and its impacts on the environment, it is important to identify the challenges faced by the EU Member States. The aim of this paper is to identify the main environmental and climate challenges that agriculture in Poland will have to face due to the current European Green Deal strategy and its objectives, taking into account the organizational changes in this sector so far and the existing forms of environmental protection in rural areas. The paper is based on empirical data from the Farm Structure Survey conducted by Statistics Poland in 2005, 2007 and 2016, data on greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural origin gathered by the National Centre for Emissions Management (KOBiZE), data from the European Commission, the General Directorate for Environmental Protection and the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute concerning the delimitation of the Natura 2000 areas in Poland and the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics—National Research Institute on three national variants of High Nature Value Farmland areas delimited for the needs of the European Commission, as well as data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the delimitation of the less favoured areas with high natural value. In addition, a literature review was conducted indicating the links between agriculture, the environment and climate. The results of the study illustrate the state of Polish agriculture and the changes in this sector in the context of environmental and climate challenges. The results also identify the most difficult areas that will require practical solutions in the future to implement the European Green Deal strategy in Poland. The findings will provide an important basis for policy makers in terms of effective support of agriculture and for the scientific community with regard to agricultural research, which should be particularly developed in order to be able to adapt the agricultural sector to new challenges.