Poles plan quicker freehold for foreigners
By Simon Wragg
UK producers with a vested interest in farming in Poland look set to benefit from a rethink on proposals governing ownership of farmland.
Poland, which hopes to become an EU member state in 2004, had been pursuing a derogation preventing foreign investors buying farmland for the first 18 years of membership.
But a change of government has reopened the debate on land ownership, says Adam Oliver of Brown & Cos Poland office.
“If the most radical proposals reported in local media were adopted, UK businesses farming in Poland under rental or lease agreements before EU membership may be able to purchase freehold title within two to three years of accession,” says Mr Oliver.
One UK farmer in Poland welcomes the first sign of a rethink.
Gerald Rivett, who farms 340ha (840 acres) at Grojec, south of Warsaw, says removing barriers to freehold title will allow UK producers to invest with confidence.
“We are currently caught in a trap. Most lease agreements are given for 10 years and have no compensation for tenant improvements.
“Unless UK producers can realistically expect to obtain the freehold title, capital improvements could dry up,” he says.
Mr Rivett is optimistic that reform will take place. “The closer Poland comes towards EU membership the greater the pace of change will be.”