- Jacek Słoma believes that farmers themselves share responsibility for who represents them. He points to Michał Kołodziejczak as an example of his generation.
- The farmer also takes a critical view of some older agricultural activists. In his opinion, many of them became entangled over time in political, business and social dependencies.
- Słoma argues that farmers have far greater independence than they realize. He urges the community to make more conscious use of the capital, knowledge and freedom that running a farm provides.
“We are responsible for who represents us”
Jacek Słoma published a pointed reflection on the state of representation for the farming community. The farmer from Podlasie does not place all the responsibility on politicians or organisation leaders. On the contrary, he believes some of the blame lies with farmers themselves.
“It is a sad but nonetheless undeniable fact that we, farmers, as a whole, are responsible for who represents us at various levels,” he wrote.
In his view, Michał Kołodziejczak is an example of a problem affecting the current generation of farmers.
“Kołodziejczak is a stone in the garden of my generation of farmers,” Słoma said.
The criticism is not directed at just one person
Słoma points out that a similar problem existed before as well. He mentions activists from an older generation who, in his view, spent years building their standing on farmers’ protests and demands, and later became increasingly dependent on political, business, or social connections. The farmer uses very harsh language in his assessment. This is his opinion, not a statement of fact, but it clearly shows the level of frustration with how some of the farming elite operate. In Słoma’s view, the problem is that representatives of the community were able to rise to prominence thanks to farmers’ mobilization, but later lost the independence that had initially given them a mandate to act.
Farmers have more freedom than they think
The most interesting part of his statement, however, is not about personal criticism. Słoma argues that modern farming gives farm owners a tremendous degree of independence—economic, personal, political, and social. According to him, a large proportion of farmers now make up a classic middle class. They own land, which remains an asset that allows them to plan for the long term. They often have farms built up over several generations, family support, and practical knowledge that cannot be acquired overnight.
Land, knowledge and technology as an advantage
Słoma points out that running a farm today requires skills that go far beyond agricultural production itself. Farmers have to navigate a complex administrative system, keep up with changing regulations, operate increasingly advanced machinery, analyze costs and make investment decisions. They are also increasingly using new technologies and artificial intelligence. In many local communities, it is the owners of modern farms who are among the quickest to adopt digital solutions, automation and precision agriculture. Słoma has been involved for years in public debate on agriculture and farmers’ protests; in 2024 he spoke, among other things, about the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on the profitability of production.
“Let’s nurture this independence”
It is precisely this combination of land, capital, knowledge and experience that, according to Jacek Słoma, gives farmers a level of independence that many other social groups do not have. In his view, the problem is that some in the farming community are not fully aware of the scale of these advantages. The farmer therefore urges them not to give up their independence and to start using it not only in running their farms, but also in public life. He writes about creating a kind of “agro-archipelagos of freedom”—a community of self-reliant people who are economically aware and resistant to political dependencies.
“We must start demanding more of ourselves”
The culmination of his statement is a call for self-criticism. Słoma asks whether farmers can complain about the quality of their representatives if, for years, they themselves have accepted a particular way of selecting leaders and entrusting them with influence.
We must start demanding more of ourselves because, unfortunately, we get what we deserve – he stresses.
In his view, without raising expectations of their own leaders, it will be difficult to change how farmers are represented in politics, industry organizations or institutions. This is also one of the strongest elements of his statement: responsibility for the state of the community does not end with politicians. According to Słoma, it begins much earlier – within the farming community itself.
Farmers as a strong social group
Słoma’s statement is bitter, but at the same time it contains a clearly positive message about the potential of the Polish countryside. He does not portray farmers as a helpless group dependent on state decisions. On the contrary, he describes them as people with land, assets, experience, technological knowledge and the ability to make independent decisions. In his view, this is precisely the capital from which a stronger, more independent representation of the community should emerge. Because if farmers themselves do not demand more from their representatives, it is difficult to expect the level of representation to change on its own.
Source: Jacek Słoma’s statement on social media