On 26-28 November 2014, an international scientific conference entitled "The CAP and competitiveness of the Polish and European food sectors" was held in Holiday Inn hotel in Józefów, near Warsaw. The conference summed up the four-year research conducted under the Multi-Annual Programme "The competitiveness of the Polish food economy in the conditions of globalisation and European integration". The event was organised by the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics – National Research Institute.

The conference was to present the results of research and analyses carried out under the Programme, and their assessment and multifaceted evaluation. The papers delivered and discussions held during the event focused on socio-economic issues linked to the changes in agriculture, food industry and rural areas in Poland and other European and non-European countries. The topics covered at the conference included, in particular: competitiveness of the food economy sector and rural development both on micro- and macro-economic levels, impact of the CAP instruments on the efficiency and competitiveness, sustainable and multifunctional development. The conference participants also attempted to outline the vision of the future of the European food sector on the global market.

The conference was attended by ca. 140 participants including representatives of research institutes, universities, public administration, the world of politics, farm advisory agencies, bank and insurance sector, industry organisations and economic practice. The international institutes were represented by, e.g. the following: Institute of Agricultural Economics in Sofia /Bulgaria/, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information /Czech Republic/, Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics /Germany/, Research Institute of Agricultural Economics /Hungary/, Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics /Lithuania/, University Tecnica de Lisboa CIAT – Centro Ag. Tropical/ Instituto Superior de Agronomia /Portugal/, Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Economy /Russia/, Romanian Academy – Institute of Agricultural Economics /Romania/, Education and Research EAER, Institute of Agricultural Economics /Serbia/, Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG /Switzerland/, Association “Ukrainian Agribusiness Club”, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine /Ukraine/, and Embassies of France, the USA and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The conference was also attended by the representatives of such national institutions as: Agricultural Market Agency, Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, BGŻ S.A., the Poznań University of Life Sciences, University of Białystok, Pozanań University of Economics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection – Main Inspectorate, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, University of Rzeszów, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute, University of Warmia and Mazury, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture, National Council of Agriculture Chambers, Polish Chamber of Commerce, Kraków University of Economics, Nowe Życie Gospodarcze [Polish: New Economic Life], Wrocław University of Economics, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Polish Federation of Food Industry – Union of Employers.