There is a lot to be proud of
Well-developed agriculture is one of the Wielkopolska Region’s trump cards. The Region is an absolute leader in food production in Poland and a significant number of farms have almost the same amount of crops as similar farms in Western European countries.
Wielkopolska is a region with vast areas of land that can be cultivated. Two thirds of the Region’s area, or 1.9 mln ha, are agricultural areas. Although the soil, climate and water conditions are not on the highest levels, Wielkopolska is characterized by very high efficiency of agricultural production, one of the highest in Poland. Such good results are achieved through traditional agriculture area bases and model management.
Always keeping up with the times
The region’s cultivation structure has been significantly changed over the last few years. Although potato cultivation greatly decreased, crop cultivation has strongly increased. Cattle and swine breeding also increased, and their headage make almost one fourth of Poland’s total. The region is at the lead of the national classification of the regions thanks to the impressive crops and very high stock of animals on the area of 100 hectares. The leading regions of corn growing are Poznań and Leszczyna, while Kalisz leads in potato cultivation. Swine breeding headage takes these regions: Poznań, Leszczyna, Kalisz and Piła appear in the national’s leading five. The Leszczyna region also occupies the very high fourth position in the classification of cattle breeding. Sugar beets and rapes are also cultivated in Wielkopolska. Vegetable growing in the region is higher than the Polish average, in Leszczyna region even twice. Vegetables are grown mostly around Poznań and Kalisz where a significant amount can be cultivated under protection. The Konin area is also known for its high level of orcharding. Apart from all those Region’s trump cards, it’s worth mentioning that Wielkopolska is highly flexible when it comes to the current situation in agricultural areas. One example of this may be the new cultivations of, for example, asparagus, agaric, organic food and new agrotourism farms.
Not only Polagra
Several different Wielkopolska research centres are involved in improving the effectiveness and quality of agriculture. These are, among others, the Poznań University of Life Sciences and other research centers which cooperate with partners in Europe and all over the world. There are a number of specialized institutions working on introducing new plant varieties and preparing seed materials. A pedigree breeding centre and agricultural consultancy institutions also play a very important role in popularizing agricultural development and knowledge. The modern Sielinka-based centre in which agricultural and farm animals’ exhibitions take place can serve as an example.
Those kinds of exhibitions accompany the International Trade Fair of Agricultural Mechanization POLAGRA which is an important forum for promoting Polish agriculture. Almost 2,000 exhibitors from 35 countries participate in the Fair and around 200,000 visitors visit them each year. The Fair owes their momentum and popularity to Wielkopolska’s hosts. A significant number - 139,000 - individual farms in the Region make an attractive ready market for all sorts of agricultural products and is also a great resource base for food production. The Poznań Commodity Exchange, which is the biggest such institution in Poland, organizes the agricultural products’ sale. Wholesale of European quality level agricultural products is also managed by the Agricultural Horticultural Exchange in Poznań which was founded with Swiss debt capital. It can be seen as an example of a model institution which deals perfectly with the issues of providing a big city agglomeration with agricultural and food products from local producers.
Integration and competition with the EU
Private properties dominate the land ownership structure. 78 percent of the land belongs to individual farmers and the average farm is bigger than national’s average with its 9.4 hectares. Big farms, ranging from 20 to 50 hectares make 15 percent of the whole and are situated mainly in the Piła region. The average village is well equipped with technical infrastructure and the number of basic agricultural machines often exceeds the national average, which proves the good economic situation of most of the farms and their constant development. The outstanding position of Wielkopolska agriculture on the national level and its leading significance for the Region’s economy justify the work in raising its effectiveness and development to modern European standards. The strategic direction bringing us closer to the current situation in the EU will be to decrease the position of agriculture in rural areas. Long-term projects are also aimed at multifaceted village development. This also means developing an infrastructure for the rural environment and managing the excessive number of people in those areas working today in agriculture. It is the most important factor in making agricultural production more intensified, and will also make good grounds for commodity farms which will be able to cooperate and compete with EU farms.
Curiosity
Horse breeding is an unquestionable attraction of Wielkopolska agriculture. A long and beautiful tradition in this area gives us such studs as those in Racot (Kościan commune), Pępów (Gostyń commune), Golejówek (Rawice commune), Iwno (Poznań commune), Posadów (Nowy Tomyśl commune) and Sieraków (Międzychód commune). There are mostly for Thoroughbred breeds and Racot, which is one of the biggest studs in Europe, also runs experimental breeding of PolishTarpan horses.