![Floods in southwest Poland also bring losses to farmers [World News]](https://foodcom.pl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Foodcom_World_News_Global-1520x760.jpg "Floods in southwest Poland also bring losses to farmers [World News]")
- High water levels and flooding have affected the south-west of Poland.
- Vegetable and cereal crops not harvested from the fields have been affected, as well as food stores and farm buildings.
- Farmers are struggling to cope with the disaster, protecting their belongings and estimating losses.
- The floods and the losses that followed could push up food prices and accelerate inflation in Poland.
The Genoa low and its effects – damage also to agriculture
Last week’s intense rainfall particularly affected the regions of Poland located in the south-west, near the border with the Czech Republic. The culprit is the Genoese low that reached our country. Various regions of Poland were affected – a tornado appeared near Radom, and many dangerous incidents were also reported in Wielkopolska and Małopolska. However, by far the greatest damage was observed in Silesia, Lower Silesia and the Opole region, where many hours of heavy rain significantly raised the level of rivers, causing inundation and local flooding.
In southern Poland, many fields are standing water, and rivers have also flooded many farms. Vegetable producers, especially tomatoes and potatoes, which in many places have not yet been harvested, have suffered the greatest losses. The starch content of the potatoes has dropped so much that many of them will not be suitable for the production of Chips or crisps. Losses are also being reported by Masovian pepper growers and farmers with fields of maize, beet and rape. The water is destroying not only vegetables, but also animal feed, meadows, alfalfa and already stored cereal and vegetable crops. The evacuation of livestock is also a problem where water floods farm buildings.
Long-term effects of the damage
Farmers are currently focusing on saving their property. In a few days they will start to assess the real losses. Many crops from flooded fields will be unusable due to their reduced quality. In addition, the dampness will contribute to the development of fungal pathogens and storage diseases, which will bring further losses and the need for farmers to incur related expenses, including the purchase of specialised equipment to store their crops safely.
Precipitation and flooding are not only destroying crops, but also hampering the sowing of cereals for next year. Already, agricultural prices are expected to rise and the impact of the floods is expected to increase inflation. However, farmers will not be left on their own – there is talk of aid from the state and from the EU’s emergency reserve, as well as grants from the EU’s Justice Fund for the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in the floods.
