Sustainable development in agriculture. Poland is one of the world leaders
Poland is among the top countries implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But are we really on track to achieving them?
In 2015, UN member states adopted an ambitious plan to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Agriculture plays a key role in achieving many of these goals, particularly in the context of combating hunger, improving nutrition and protecting the climate. Implementing more ecological and less intensive methods of agricultural production, instead of mass industrial production, is expected to contribute to achieving these tasks. Poland ranks high in the ranking of countries advanced in achieving these goals, taking a place in the top ten out of 167 countries in the world.
The importance of agriculture in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Of the 17 goals set out in the 2030 Agenda, many are directly related to agriculture, such as ending hunger (goal 2), responsible consumption and production (goal 12), and climate action (goal 13). Agriculture also plays an indirect role in achieving up to 14, and according to some experts, as many as 16, goals.
Prof. Julian Krzyżanowski from the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics (IERiGŻ–PIB) emphasizes that despite efforts, around 600 million people in the world still suffer from food shortages. There are plans to increase support for agriculture, which can help fight hunger, although completely eliminating this problem may be difficult. Agriculture is also key to combating climate change. Many years ago, British experts recognized farmers as guardians of the environment, which includes, among other things, limiting the use of chemicals, reducing water and soil pollution, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from animal production.
Almost a decade after the adoption of the program, global progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is far from expected. According to the Sustainable Development Report 2024, only 16 percent of the goals are likely to be achieved on schedule. Most of them (84 percent) are experiencing stagnation or even regression. In recent years, the situation has been particularly difficult for the goals related to eliminating hunger, sustainable cities, life under water and on land.
The performance of individual countries in achieving these goals is mixed. Developing countries are struggling the most, while European countries, including Poland, are doing better. Poland scored 81.69 points in the SDG Index, which places it tenth in the world. Most of the goals (56%) are on track, but 27.6% of goals have deteriorated, and almost 16% have seen moderate progress.
Poland against the background of the European Union
According to a report by the Polish Economic Institute, Poland compares favourably with other EU countries in areas related to poverty reduction and quality of education. In these areas, Poland exceeds the EU average and maintains a good pace of achieving its goals. We achieve the weakest results in reducing hunger, access to clean water and sanitation, and protecting life under water. In these areas, our results are below the EU average, and the pace of achieving these goals has slowed down.
Scandinavian countries lead the way in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, but Poland also ranks high, which is partly due to its environmentally friendly agriculture. Prof. Krzyżanowski emphasizes that agriculture must continue to develop, with the key being a shift to less intensive farming and production methods, such as creating green belts or abandoning industrial animal production in favor of more ecological practices.
In the future, EU documents such as the Green Deal and the “From Farm to Fork” strategy will be key. Prof. Krzyżanowski notes that the actions taken so far are sufficient, but it is important to remember the income of farmers who provide food and do hard work, and at the same time deserve a fair reward for their efforts.