POLAND - POLOGNE - POLONIA

His Excellency Roman Jagielinski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Food Economy of the Republic of Poland

Let me congratulate you on your appointment to preside over this forum of such worldwide importance. I would like also to express my high esteem of the Italian Republic for hosting another Summit of such importance and for the unflagging effort to support the advancement in world agriculture and nutrition.

Poland has supported the idea of the World Food Summit since it was first presented by Mr. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, during the meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture from Eastern and Central Europe in Warsaw two years ago.

We perceive that finding solutions to the problem of hunger and malnutrition is a major challenge the international community is facing at this moment. Addressing such problems as famine in many parts of the world, including the countries of Africa and Asia, as well as the problem of malnutrition in some countries of Eastern and Central Europe requires the mobilization of the entire international community to resolve macroeconomic measures as well as reforms.

The implementation of the Rome Declaration and Plan of Action will undoubtedly speed up the achievement of such honourable goals.

In this very location, one should mention the historic opinion of David Lubin, my compatriot, and also a citizen of the United States of America, who, when establishing the International Agricultural Institute that was to become the basis for the future FAO, recognized that global co-operation and trade were as important as, or even more important than, progress in agricultural production and technology.

And this has been the case. The overall improvement in the nutrition of the world's population has been globally achieved through the economic development of many countries, agricultural advancement and the expansion of world trade.

The agreement concluding the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) Uruguay Round provided the basis for liberalization of world trade as well as the opportunity for the developing countries to use their resources to increase revenues generated from agricultural exports and, at the same time, to reduce pockets of poverty in their societies. This is more important than ever as food needs increase along with demographic growth.

While using their own resources, developing countries as well as those undergoing economic transformation should be provided with the opportunity to participate more widely in the international division of labour. Liberalization of world trade is conducive to this process. The limitation of agricultural protectionism by developed countries facilitates the entering of global markets by the developing countries as well as those now transforming their economies. So Poland has supported and will continue to support all of the undertakings aimed at increasing the liberalization of global trade. Polish customs tariffs ensure better access to the Polish market for developing countries and they are increasingly availing themselves of this opportunity.

Apart from the world trade liberalization effort, more active steps by governments of the developing countries should be taken aimed at solving famine and malnutrition problems through the development of domestic agricultural sectors. The international community can support only effective national programmes of agricultural and rural development and the efforts which countries make to implement these programmes but they cannot substitute themselves for these programmes. The political and economic picture of the world has substantially changed since the World Food Conference in 1974. In Central and Eastern Europe, the centrally planned economic systems have collapsed. Poland and other countries in this region are developing market economies at this time.

An advanced process of disarmament is also under way, which may result in reduced military spending. Funds saved in this way could be partially allocated to support economic growth in developing countries. It is necessary to develop agricultural sectors in these countries and to effectively control famine and malnutrition. The money saved, and put to this use, we feel, is the best and most humanitarian way to invest in peace and international cooperation. Developing countries cannot solve their problems of famine and malnutrition by themselves, even with the most extreme effort or with food aid.

Poland, and other Eastern European countries have undergone a process of radical reform. Unfortunately this costs money and this has had repercussions on standards of living and nutrition. Yet this is a temporary situation and in years to come these countries will be capable not only of solving their nutritional problems but they will also be able to support other countries in their efforts to develop economically and to solve their food problems as well. Today they are receiving technical assistance to establish a new type of economy. Tomorrow they will be ready to share their experience with others. Many of the solutions applied in these countries may be used to establish modern market economies in developing countries.

FAO should continue the Agricultural Adjustment Programme, but on a different scale to ensure that the experience gained so far is fully applied.

Poland was the first to launch market reforms in 1989. This included both great achievements and some blunders. But the results have borne fruit. The economy is developing very dynamically and the agricultural and rural sectors are being modernized and the integration process of Poland with the European Union has also been launched. Poland has received strong political and economic support from the international community in this difficult period after it regained political independence and launched economic changes.

The system of higher education is very well developed in our country. Polish experience and expertise in the development of market institutions, food economies, agricultural extension service development are considerable and these are watched closely by neighbours. Poland also makes its expertise available, participating in assistance programmes, coordinated by international organizations, and particularly FAO and the OECD, in the food economy sectors in the course of programmes implemented in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in developing countries. This cooperation may be enlarged and this is what we intend to offer.

I have been privileged in being able to submit to the Director-General the message addressed to all participants of the World Food Summit from His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland.

The Secretariat also received the following message from His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland

It was with great appreciation that Poland received the idea to convene a World Food Summit under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This is an unshakeable proof of the lofty role that this Organization plays in the struggle against hunger and malnutrition in the world, guided by the concern to ensure food security for the entire humanity.

May I be allowed to quote here a visionary thought of our compatriot and a citizen of the United States of America, David Lubin, who at the beginning of the century, while laying foundations for the international community's future, organized activities aimed at the development of agriculture, recognized that in this area international cooperation was as important as technological progress and progress in production.

Despite the immense technological progress and production achievements in the world, the problem of hunger and malnutrition is, regretfully, still topical, casting a truely tragic shadow on these attainments.

Our society is lucky in that it does not suffer from the problem of hunger. This does not mean, however, that we are allowed to forget about others, and indeed we do not forget about them. Moreover, Poland, according to its possibilities, actively contributes, wherever possible, to reducing the tragic effects of hunger and malnutrition by providing technological and material assistance.

Having experienced in the not-too-distant past assistance and solidarity on the part of the international community, I hereby express the hope that now my country's contribution to international assistance in this field will be increasing.

With this message, and in this belief, Mr. Chairman, I wish the World Food Summit fruitful debates and wise decisions in the struggle against hunger and malnutrition, in the furtherance of the cause of strengthening global food security.