U.S. Embassy and Polish Agricultural Groups Co-host Farm Policy Conference

24 October 2004

The Polish Institute for Rural Development, Polish-European Fund for Rural Development, the 4H Foundation in Poland, and the American Embassy in Warsaw held a conference October 24 on American agricultural policy in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (known as the U.S. Farm Bill) and the future of agricultural policy under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy after 2013.  The conference represented an opportunity for the United States to explain its farm bill to an audience of 250 and let American, Polish and other EU member states’ representatives consider the future of farm policy within the Doha Round of WTO trade talks after their collapse last July.  Poland’s major ministries, agencies, parliamentarians, and farm groups attended. American Agricultural Counselor Eric Wenberg opened the conference with remarks to the audience that the U.S. Farm Bill does not represent the negotiating position of the United States with the low key talks that are back underway in Geneva.  The United States is prepared to cut farm subsidies for a market opening agreement on Doha, he said. 

The Farm bill legislation provides funding for conservation, and helps consumers through programs such as food stamps.  Commodity subsidies represent just ten percent of the spending in the farm bill.  Ambassador Victor Ashe addressed the conference, and emphasized the legislation funds important nutrition programs.  Ashe said that the farm bill provides 111 million meals each year to children in schools in Tennessee.   The Ambassador said that he and USDA would be working to try to encourage more child nutrition programs in Poland.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had research, extension, and conservation experts Henry Bahn and Felix Spinelli from Washington, DC, at the conference.  Professors Louis Moore and James Dunn of Pennsylvania State University.  Thirty-two year veteran Pennsylvania State legislator Jess Stairs, discussed how Pennsylvania works to promote farming in his state.  Dr. Dunn was critical of the Farm Bill’s subsidies.  Dunn said that farm subsidies result in increasing land prices and don’t work over time to keep farmers from failing. 

Representatives of Denmark and the Netherlands presented their ideas for the future for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.  Denmark’s Jan Stokvard Viuff, head of Agribusiness Directorate, Ministry of Food, Agricultural and Fisheries, presented Danish views for reform that would eventually lead to lower subsidies in the long term in Europe.  Danish Agricultural Counselor in Warsaw Fleming Duus Mathiesen also spoke on his views for how to move ahead with reform in Europe.  Netherlands Agricultural Counselor in Warsaw Raymond Tans, commented on his country’s hopes for a more market oriented farm policy.  The conference was summarized by Poland’s leading expert on the U.S. farm economy, Professor Franciszek Tomczak.

Many ideas were shared and points answered.  The American Embassy and U.S. Department of Agriculture marked 18 years of cooperation with the Institute of Rural Economics and plans events in the future on child nutrition and other themes.   USDA’s agricultural analyst in Warsaw Kacie Fritz was the chief organizer of the event from the American Embassy.  Ms. Fritz is an intern and student of agriculture at the University of California, Davis, on temporary duty in Warsaw for USDA.