Record demand for land. Polish farmers are fighting for every piece of it
In 2024, the KOWR (National Center for Agricultural Support) leased 43 000 hectares of state land, 65 % more than in 2023.
At the time, 3 800 contracts were signed, which is more than 800 more than a year earlier, and 6 200 lease contracts were renewed, i.e. 1/3 more compared to 2023, and the effectiveness of lease tenders reached 90%.
A major challenge is the lengthening land lease procedures by KOWR, which limits the number of permits issued. If it were not for this, even more land would be given to farmers.
The procedures related to leasing land to farmers are also a problem of land “hunger”. Farmers are currently fighting for every piece of land among themselves. As the deputy director of KOWR informed, more than 40 farmers often submitted offers to KOWR for one plot of land in the vicinity of the village.
Quite often, the results of the tenders conducted were (and still are) questioned by determined farmers for various, even very minor reasons, which additionally extends the already quite complicated tender procedures (two-instance need to resolve disputes in the case of appeals).
For example, the local branch in Opole (western-southern Poland) has still not resolved a series of tenders from the end of 2023, due to the complicated procedure of tender offers.
In addition, there is a shortage of specialists (e.g. surveyors, appraisers) who could finalize such tenders, but KOWR is trying to improve this situation. This mainly concerns those KOWR branches where there will be the most land, e.g. for geodetic divisions or valuation.
Source: Farmer.pl