Polish pig farmers demand suspension of promotion fund levies and an audit in parliament
At a debate in Poland's Sejm, pork producers called for suspending contributions to agricultural promotion funds, while poultry and beef representatives warned against scrapping the whole mechanism.
A debate on agricultural product promotion funds was held in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland's parliament, on 6 November. The funds are financed by producers' own contributions and pay for promoting Polish food and finding markets for it. The event, titled "Promotion funds: reform or abolish?", was organised by the parliamentary group "OdNowa RP" and chaired by Krzysztof Ciecióra, an MP from the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS). The issue matters because farmers are demanding clarity on how their money is spent.
What prompted the debate
One trigger was the case of a farmer named Witold, who tried to attend an event financed from the funds but was denied access. Ciecióra said this had become a symbol of a trust problem. He did not back scrapping all the funds unconditionally and called for consultations with farmers.
Pig farmers' demands
The sharpest criticism targeted the Pork Promotion Fund. Pig farmer Hubert Ojdana said more than 400,000 pig farms have closed in Poland since 2009, and argued the fund should be abolished or at least suspended. Janusz Terka of the National Pork Council demanded a "serious reset", a halt to spending and an audit by independent state bodies. Damian Kacprzak of the Polish Association of Independent Pig Producers said domestic output covers 78% of demand and about 40% of pigs slaughtered in Poland are raised from Danish piglets.
Adam Reimann of the farmers' association "Wspólna Rola" claimed that 500 million zlotys were spent from the funds over four years and that up to 350 million may have gone "into another pocket". The article stresses these are his own calculations, not audit findings.
Defenders and proposals
Dariusz Goszczyński, president of the National Poultry Council, said Polish poultry exports to the Philippines rose from zero in 2023 to 46,000 tonnes in 2025, though he did not attribute all of the growth to the funds. Beef representative Jacek Zarzecki said Turkey accounts for 20% of Polish beef exports and urged not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater".
Estera Gutowska of the "Samoobrona" trade union proposed open criteria for awarding funds, cost control, measuring campaign results and excluding people with conflicts of interest from decisions.
