A public hearing on the revision of the National Recovery Plan was held on April 8. One of the revisions concerns investments in diversifying and shortening the agricultural and food supply chain and building the resilience of actors in the chain. Green REV Institute addressed procurement in the context of food and supporting local, sustainable agriculture.

Szymon Zugaj, Green REV Institute: ” The explanatory statement rightly points out that farmers need special support during the volatile situation related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and also the intensification and industrialization of the food system. However, support during the just transformation of the food system must not be limited to one-off, short-term investment support, it must include building relationships with consumer people, who today have been replaced by the most powerful players in the market – discounters and supermarkets. When the rulers of our wallets such as Biedronka and Lidl, i.e. Jeronimo Martins and the Schwarz Group, wage a price war against each other it is everyone who loses – we, the consumers, the farmers, as well as the health system and the state – because the cost of fighting for the cheapest, unhealthiest, unsustainable food is also borne by a system that supports and reinforces the dominance of the retail chains. The National Recovery Plan should support the programs and projects that we are calling for and requesting under the Plant School Program:
a) Development of community-supported agriculture; substantive, technical and financial assistance.

b) Cooperation between local public institutions and local farmers.

c) Introduction of green procurement for food products ordered in schools, hospitals and all public institutions. Focus on high-quality, local, seasonal, nutrient-rich food.

The National Recovery Plan must, in strengthening food and food security, be a complementary tool and not a one-off tool to show that those in power want to solve pressing problems. The food system today is a problem and a risk for everyone: consumers, people at risk of food poverty, farmers, young people, public health, wildlife, the planet and animals. That’s why we call for a review of interventions in diversification and shortening the supply chain, and the inclusion of all local farmers, consumers, local communities in a just transition, and an end to support for those players who today dominate the market condemning unhealthy, unethical food. In building food security, we must also be guided by the safety of food itself and a long-term vision.

Credit: unsplash