International Study Seminar – Day 10

International Study Seminar – Day 10

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

– written by Eric Smalley, Brittany Dean, & Pinakin Desai – Presiding Fellows

Our day started with a tour led by Thomas Sullivan (branch manager for C.H. Robinson in Warsaw), who graciously offered to show us around a local fresh market near our hotel, as well as the only synagogue in Warsaw to survive WWII (because the Nazi’s used it as a stable for their horses).  An interesting (and sobering) way to start the day.

We got back to the hotel just in time to register for the US-Poland Agri & Food Summit, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, to coincide with our visit to Warsaw.  We learned that it is a very important year of anniversaries in Poland: the nation is celebrating 25 years from the end of communist rule, 15 years with NATO, and it is also the 10 year anniversary of the accession into the European Union.  Poland is now the 6th largest economy within the EU, but is not part of the European Monetary Union.  Poland’s GDP remained positive during the worldwide recession starting in 2008 thru today.

The summit started with several briefings from representatives from the U.S. Embassy, the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and our own Ron Warfield (IALF Board member and alumnus), who gave a briefing on the Current State of the Agricultural Sector in the U.S.  When discussing current concerns of U.S. farmers, Ron noted that many are actually universal, affecting farmers in Poland as well as the U.S. (e.g. weather, crop/livestock prices) with the most recent common concern being the actions/agendas of non-farm extremist groups.

Ron also talked about the importance of trade, which was clearly one of the common themes throughout the day, including the importance of making progress on completion of T-TIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a free trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies — the U.S. and E.U.

There were also 2 panel discussions — one focusing on the “Agriculture Production — Issues and Challenges Faced on the Production Side and the Role of Government Support Programs”.  One of the participants was Nick Nagele (IALP Class of 2014), who gave his perspective of Ag production given his experience on a variety of farming operations, including his family’s “traditional” farm.

The other panel discussed the “Commercialization of Agriculture — Growth of the Agricultural Industry in Poland.”  Jeff Bunting (IALP Class of 2014) participated in this panel, discussing the recent growth experienced by GROWMARK in the U.S. and what factors are evaluated in making strategic growth decisions.

We wrapped up the meeting with an in depth conversation on the challenges and opportunities of Agriculture in Poland going forward and the possible future adoption of GMO new technologies in the E.U./Poland — i.e. What might it take to turn the tide of public opinion, etc.).

We would like to thank the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland for providing a great platform for the exchange of ideas related to agriculture. While there are differences in how agriculture looks in the U.S. and Poland, we certainly have many things in common and were able to learn from each and build new relationships.