The aim of the meeting was to present the results of work carried out in the Baltic Compass project, an exchange of opinions regarding the status of actions taken to reduce the negative impact of agriculture on water quality and planning of further works.
The meeting was attended by 36 people representing, among others, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, the Regional Board of Land Reclamation and Water Facilities.Issues addressed in presentations and discussions
EU directives often do not take into account the specificities of the country. This applies to both climatic conditions and farms structure. While the fragmentation of Polish farms is meaningful many of the recommendations are difficult or impossible to implement.
In Polish conditions it is reasonable to develop appropriate technology of manure utilization to improve use of nutrients (N and P). Database of fertilizers production also requires updating with data concerning information about farmers and phosphorous index (an indicator of P loss from the field).
Results of the conducted surveys aimed at finding the most important constraints in the implementation of actions aimed at improving water quality have been very scattered. The most common answers were: “inadequate financial, institutional and human resources", "collaboration between the sectors of agriculture and the environment," "environmental challenges", "large number of small farms", "legal aspects ".
Final remarks
The meeting was very useful, especially for the experts involved in the project. This will allow make further work more detailed. In the selection of recommended remedial measures one must pay more attention to specificities of production in the region. It is important to develop manure standards, especially in the context of changing housing systems and animal nutrition.The participants of the meeting repeatedly emphasized the need of exchanging experiences among the Baltic countries concerning not only actions aiming at reduction of threats to water quality but also co-operation between agricultural producers and policy makers and experts involved in the project. It would be very useful if experts involved in works in the project from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia could participate as observers in Round Table Meeting organized in Sweden, Finland and Germany.
