Aleksander Bentkowski:
The Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARiMR) was formed in 1993 to accelerate the modernization of Polish agriculture. Recently, the agency has come under fire in the press and among European Union members and politicians for wasteful use of public funds, cronyism and disorganization. The agency manages two key programs geared toward putting the farming industry on more competitive footing within the EU - the Special Accession Program for Agricultural and Rural Development (Sapard) and the implementation of the integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), which is to be used to collect information about land under cultivation and the number of cattle that farmers own. Aleksander Bentkowski, president of ARiMR, talked with the WBJ's John Zoltowski about the state of ARiMR and the future of Polish agriculture. The following is a translated and edited version of their conversation.
Q: AMiMR was created to help farmers. So what happens to the roughly 4 million peasant farmers as Poland heads toward the EU?
A: We have closed an informal agreement with banks to launch credits at an interest rate lower than 10%. This is still too expensive for farmers. We have directed assets for paying consultants in Agricultural Consulting Centers and they get zł. 300 for every correct application they help make. This is perhaps not much but it sure helps.
Q: What is your vision of Poland's farmers in the future?
A: This is a dangerous question as it touches our deepest problem: what happens to the farmers who are not able to survive in agriculture. Some of them will have to use structural pensions or find jobs in different industries.
Q: Will the government subsidize them for not being farmers?
A: Yes, we assume that those who are over 60 will give their farms to the younger and retire at the age of 60, not 65. They will receive those pensions as compensation.
Q: Surely that is not enough. What else will you provide?
A: There is an interesting opportunity for farms. In Poland, one-third of farmlands are fifth- and sixth-grade lands - weak soil that should not be used in farming. We would like our farmers to plant forests on these lands and get money for looking after them.
Q: So you are asking poorer farmers to give up their land for trees instead?
A: Yes, this year we have planted 4,000 hectares of forests. In 2003, we assume that 15,000 hectares will be planted. I have data that says that with the support of the European Union we would be able to plant 50,000 hectares of forests every year and in this way exclude those areas from farming. Farmers in Poland get about E450 per hectare of planted forest annually for 20 years.
Q: What effect will EU accession have on farmers?
A: EU accession will stabilize the market and make a clear division for those who are able to compete and for those who have to find other jobs or get structural pensions.
Q: Roughly 27% of Poles work in agriculture. How many of them will remain in the sector following EU accession?
A: I think that in about 10 years about half of farmers will leave agriculture.
Q: What is the biggest problem for ARiMR?
A: The problem is that the agency has to make some purchases for IACS, including computer hardware. We have the money, but the tender procedures take so long that we're having problems with deadlines.
Q: Many small farmers are critical of Sapard because to reap the program's rewards it requires a hefty initial investment. How would you address their concerns?
A: I cannot criticize farmers who cannot use Sapard because they do not have the money for investment (the condition of getting money from Sapard is investment first), and they are afraid of loans.
Q: But farmers still do not have the money to modernize their facilities.
A: Unfortunately Sapard is restricted. Its conditions say that you cannot use two instruments of support simultaneously, for example, Sapard and help of the government. But Sapard never guaranteed money without own input. In reality, only those who are better-off are able to use it. One needs their own assets to use Sapard.
Q: Many farmers believe they have been given false promises by the government on the benefits of accession. What do you say?
A: EU is a sort of cure for agricultural problems because it creates an opportunity for gentle transition. If those people do not find jobs in towns and cities, they will remain in the country and we will have so-called social farming that needs to be subsidized - just like the unemployed are subsidized in the EU.
Q: Have farmers been misinformed about the consequences of EU accession?
A: I don't think so. Nobody promised that there would be a rapid improvement on EU entry. Our farmers expect nothing more than fair competition. At the cost of hard labor, they will have to make up for the technological delay until we catch up with the EU.
Q: The government looks likely to accept the 25% direct subsidies figure from the EU in the first year of membership. What do you think about this?
A: There are rumors that the government is likely to accept less than 100% subsidies. I think that 25% would be extremely hard to pass in Parliament and it is Parliament that has to agree on the conditions of accession first.
Q: Is there any chance the EU will offer more?
A: There are no signals of any willingness (to do so). Agriculture Minister Kalinowski made a proposal that would not cost the EU a single euro more. He wants to supplement that 25% with money from structural funds.
Q: But aren't the structural finds also badly needed?
A: Yes, but the problem is that the EU knows that from the €1.2 billion that is directed to structural funds, Poland is not able to digest more than 10-15% in the first year. So that money will not be used.
Q: So they know we cannot use the funds?
A: Yes. But they just nod their heads and say, 'this money is at your disposal.'
Q: The European Union and the Polish public have complained that AMiMR is not transparent enough for a public institution. What do you say?
A: After arriving here I said we would do everything with open doors. Information on all our activities is sent to the EU delegation in Warsaw. EU representatives are invited to tenders and they are present at meetings that are expected to lead to hiring new employees.
Q: Do you hire people based on political affiliation?
A: We always obey the rule that our employees have master's degrees in areas that are needed in the IACS program.
Q: So everybody is qualified?
A: Everybody is a graduate in departments that are directly connected with IACS problems. There are agriculture experts, veterinarians, economists, lawyers and more. If there is a graduate of a different department, they have to complete postgraduate studies in desired faculties.
Q: You are testing all your employees in about three months to see if they are competent. Will everyone pass?
A: I cannot imagine that an employee who holds a master's degree and is involved in our activities would fail the test. It they do, they will have to resign.
Q: So the criticism was unjustified?
A: I think that this matter has been explained already. I think that the EU has reacted very nervously to the letter from one of the late directors. He wrote that there is a purge in the agency but there were only two directors and two deputy directors laid off. The press was looking for members of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the Peasants Party (PSL) among the new employees. They found a couple of dozen but since we employ more than 700 people, this is an insignificant number. When I arrived, I had 400 employees, none of whom was from the SLD or PSL. I had no problems with that.
