Pole wins WWF Baltic Farmer of the Year

The farm is a conventional farming with wheat, barley, corn, canola and potatoes as the main crop, but he also runs an orchard aThe winner of the prestigious annual prize was selected from among eight candidates representing countries in the Baltic region at a ceremony in Stockholm on Wednesday.

The title is granted by the World Wide Fund and the prize of 10,000 euros is sponsored by Swedbank and other Swedish banks.

Marian Rak – who was unable to attend the ceremony in the Swedish capital due to the closure of Warsaw's international airport after the dramatic emergency landing of a Boeing 767 on Tuesday - won the prize for “reducing pesticides and increasing biodiversity” on his farm which he has been working since 1975.

“I've always been interested in nature and when I realized that my farm was harmful to the environment, I decided to work for nature. The award means a lot and inspire further work,” Marian Rak said yesterday.

“Marian Rak is an example of the new environmentally friendly working methods," said Håkan Wirtén, Secretary General of the WWF.

The farm uses conventional farming methods growing wheat, barley, corn and potatoes as the main crop, but he also runs an orchard and raises cattle. (pg/ss)