On 26-28 November 2014, an international scientific conference entitled "The CAP and competitiveness of the Polish and European food sectors" was held in Holiday Inn hotel in Józefów, near Warsaw. The conference summed up the four-year research conducted under the Multi-Annual Programme "The competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalisation and European integration". The event was organised by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics – National Research Institute.

The conference was to present the results of research and analyses carried out under the Programme, and their assessment and multifaceted evaluation. The papers delivered and discussions held during the event focused on socio-economic issues linked to the changes in agriculture, food industry and rural areas in Poland and other European and non-European countries. The topics covered at the conference included, in particular: competitiveness of the food economy sector and rural development both on micro- and macro-economic levels, impact of the CAP instruments on the efficiency and competitiveness, sustainable and multifunctional development. The conference participants also attempted to outline the vision of the future of the European food sector on the global market.

The conference was attended by ca. 140 participants including representatives of research institutes, universities, public administration, the world of politics, farm advisory agencies, bank and insurance sector, industry organisations and economic practice. The international institutes were represented by, e.g. the following: Institute of Agricultural Economics in Sofia /Bulgaria/, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information /Czech Republic/, Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics /Germany/, Research Institute of Agricultural Economics /Hungary/, Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics /Lithuania/, University Tecnica de Lisboa CIAT – Centro Ag. Tropical/ Instituto Superior de Agronomia /Portugal/, Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Economy /Russia/, Romanian Academy – Institute of Agricultural Economics /Romania/, Education and Research EAER, Institute of Agricultural Economics /Serbia/, Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG /Switzerland/, Association “Ukrainian Agribusiness Club”, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine /Ukraine/, and Embassies of France, the USA and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The conference was also attended by the representatives of such national institutions as: Agricultural Market Agency, Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, BGŻ S.A., the Poznań University of Life Sciences, University of Białystok, Pozanań University of Economics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection – Main Inspectorate, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, University of Rzeszów, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute, University of Warmia and Mazury, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, National Council of Agriculture Chambers, Polish Chamber of Commerce, Kraków University of Economics, Nowe Życie Gospodarcze [Polish: New Economic Life], Wrocław University of Economics, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Polish Federation of Food Industry – Union of Employers.

Session I

prof. Andrzej Kowalski – Globalization, integration and competitiveness of the food sector

prof. Bernardo Pacheco de Carvalho – The future of the European food sector on the global market

Panel discussion

Challenges for the CAP and competitiveness of the European agri-food sector (prof. Bernardo Pacheco de Carvalho – Portugalia, prof. Tomáš Doucha – Czechy, prof. Werner Kleinhanss – Niemcy, dr Robert Garay – Węgry, prof. Andrzej Kowalski – Polska, prof. Jacek Kulawik – Polska, prof. Dimitre Nikolov – Bułgaria)

Session II

dr Agata Sielska, prof. Włodzimierz Rembisz Impact of the political rent on investments of agricultural producers

prof. Masahiko Gemma, dr Mariusz Hamulczuk – Productivity growth and convergence in European agriculture

prof. Werner Kleinhanss – Analysis of competitiveness of German agriculture based on FADN data

prof. Wojciech Józwiak, mgr Adam Kagan – Factors in the growth of competitiveness of the Polish farms

prof. Tomáš Doucha, ing. Tomáš Medonos, dr Tomáš Ratinger, ing. Martin Hruška – The assessment of the effects of the investment support scheme in the Czech Republic

Session III

prof. Dimitre Nikolov, dr Minka Choteva – Input-output modeling to assess the impact of the CAP on small farms efficiency in Bulgaria

dr Branko Mihailović, prof. Drago Cvijanović, dr Predrag Vuković – The role of international marketing in process of increasing competitiveness of agricultural products

dr Aldona Skarżyńska – Factors determining the profitability of the selected agricultural products in the medium-term perspective

dr hab. Renata Grochowska – The new principles of making the EU law and consequences of their introducing for the competitiveness of the EU agri-food sector

Session IV

dr Jolanta Drozdz, dr Artiom Volkov – Food market diversification approach – Lithuanian case

dr Camelia Gavrilescu – Changes in the agri-food trade dynamics and competitiveness in the post-accession period – evidence from Romania

dr Iwona Szczepaniak, dr Łukasz Ambroziak – Competitiveness of the agri-food exports and their changes during Poland’s membership to the EU

assoc. prof. Oleksandr Zhemoyda – Status Quo and future challenges for regional and global food markets: Ukrainian look

Session V

dr Barbara Wieliczko, dr inż. Adam Wąs, dr inż. Joanna Pawłowska-Tyszko, prof. Jacek Kulawik – Budgetary conditions of competitiveness in agriculture

prof. Józef S. Zegar – Sustainable development of agriculture in the light of the paradigm of competitiveness

prof. Krystyna Świetlik – The domestic demand for food under the influence of the successes in export

dr Teodora Stoeva, dr Dimka Haytova – Impact of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the sustainability and competitiveness of Bulgarian vegetable production

Session VI

dr Adam Wasilewski, dr Marcin Gospodarowicz – Effectiveness and efficiency of the financial support from the EU budget for the sector of small and medium enterprises in rural areas

dr Robert Garay – The development of the European Biofuel Policy on the potential and the present situation of the Hungarian biofuel sector

dr Monica Tudor – Human capital – catalyst or limiting factor of rural Romania’s competitive capabilities

dr Paweł Chmieliński, mgr Michał Dudek – Human capital in the processes of structural transformation of agriculture and rural areas