BovINEBeef Innovation Network Europe
BovINEThe Polish Beef Association is a producer organisation established in 2005, whose main objective is to represent the interests of beef cattle producers. The activities undertaken by PBA aim to support producers to improve livestock production, providing uniform, high-quality batches of beef livestock, while at the same time increasing profits.
As a member of the Polish Platform for Sustainable Beef, beef sustainable, the Polish Beef Association is currently identifying and analysing environmental problems associated with beef production (with a particular focus on GHG emissions currently), undertaking extensive actions aimed to solve them, including horizontal cooperation amongst farmers but also vertical integration in the whole supply chain. As a producer organisation, PBA brings together over 600 producers of beef livestock, operating all over Poland. As part of its activities, 5 PBA employees provide direct technical consultancy to farmers and oversees the process of selling beef livestock. Due to the small average cattle herd size in Poland (13.9 animals which are 6 times smaller than the average in EUU-15 and one of the smallest in the EU-28), and the inefficiencies and quality issues associated with such a small scale of production, the Polish Beef Association has been providing intensive training to beef farmers for the past 3 years. The emphasis in such training is put on aspects related to the economics of production, quality of beef livestock and the transfer of innovative solutions to production practice. In order to ensure the widest possible provision of such services, PBA together with the Agricultural Advisory Centre in Brwinów provides training for field advisors working in the Agricultural Advisory Centres. Representatives of feed companies and other input suppliers, private agricultural advisors and other experts operating in the area of beef livestock production also participate in this training. The approach undertaken by PBA to improve efficiency and quality, in the context of a changing external environment, is to increase the competence of beef livestock producers and advisors & other rural professionals who work with beef farmers. This is why there is such a strong emphasis on actions aimed at equalizing access to specialist knowledge.
With the aim of increasing innovation in the Polish beef sector, the Polish Beef Association, together with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the University of Warmia and Mazury within a scientific-industrial consortium developed and implemented a six-year research project “Optimisation of beef production in Poland, in accordance with the strategy “from fork to farm”, with the aim of creating solutions to optimise the production process and supply chain, and increase demand for beef, to improve the competitiveness of Polish beef producers and for the sustainable development of the Polish economy. This project has resulted in cooperation with numerous scientific entities and scientists from Poland and abroad. Since 30.11.2017, by the decision of the Minister of Science and Higher Education, the Polish Beef Association has been recognised as a scientific unit with category A (very good level). The Association operates in the international arena by striving for markets for Polish beef outside the Polish borders and in the field of cooperation with European agricultural industry organisations and research and development units. The achievements of the Polish Beef Association undoubtedly include the development of the QMP System, which, in 2008, by the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, was recognised as an official national quality system for beef and supported by the Rural Development Programmes 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. Representatives of the Polish Beef Association successfully represent Polish beef cattle producers on the Beefmeat COPA COGECA working group forum. Participation in this body allows us to monitor the processes of legislative changes and improve the position of Polish producers in the European Union.
The Polish Beef Association will provide a lead support role to UNIZAR in WP5 (Production Efficiency & Meat Quality). It will also work with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences to facilitate the establishment of a national beef network in Poland through its activities in WP3, 4, and 6 where it will help to identify Polish beef farmers’ priority needs, identify good practices in Poland, and facilitate knowledge exchange between farmers and academic experts in Poland and between Polish and other European farmers trans-nationally. It will also use its dissemination channels to ensure effective dissemination of research results to end-users and to communicate about the project at national and EU level to a range of stakeholders including farmers, industry and policymakers (WP7). It will be involved in WP2 (Network formation & Multi-Actor Approach) (providing insights as a producer association and also availing of training) to ensure an effective multi-actor approach within BovINE.
© BovINE, all rights reserved unless stated otherwise.
Please address all mail to:
FAO: Maeve Henchion
The BovINE Project
Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre
Dublin 15
D15 KN3K
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 rural
renaissance programme | Project No: 862590 under call H2020-RUR-2019-15