The Polish village is increasingly becoming a place of tension, whose origin is not only the acquisition price of cereals or EU regulations. At the center of the dispute were... smells. For any natural part of the agrarian landscape, for others – a reason to sue and claim compensation. This conflict is not just about the odor of pigsty or the sound of harvesters. It is simply a conflict for the right to produce agricultural products and for what the modern village is to be: space to live or, above all, a place to produce food.
The loud case of a pig farmer from Łódź, who has been sued by fresh neighbours for a nuisance, shows that agrarian realities increasingly collide with the expectations of residents who search peace and comfort in the countryside, but do not necessarily accept its natural qualities. In the background, there is simply a dispute over something more than a stench – whether the Polish farmer inactive has a place in Poland where he can work peacefully, without fear of lawsuits and sanctions.
The situation becomes so tense that the Ministry of Agriculture enters the action.
– We must defend the production function of the village, due to the fact that without it there will be no Polish agriculture –
said Stefan Krajewski, Minister of Agriculture for PSL, announcing legal changes to defend farmers from akin situations in the future.
Farmer drama from Łódź – from suit to social precedent
Szymon Kluka, a pig farmer from a tiny village in Łódź, has been operating for years. There was no indication that it would become the central form of a nationwide dispute. His pigsty was registered and in accordance with regulations – and yet, in 2018, a suit went to court from neighbors who claimed compensation for – as they stated – "a stench that prevents average life.’
The court said they were right. Initially, the amount of compensation was PLN 86 thousand, but after the appeal and further proceedings the sum increased to over PLN 110 thousand. The conviction was upheld by the ultimate Court and the farmer was forced to pay the full amount.
– I did not anticipate that individual who moved to the country could sue me for moving a legal farm – Kluka said in a conversation with WP Finance.
For a farmer, a conviction is not only a financial cost but besides a intellectual cost. He had to cut down on production and quit part of the breeding so as not to exposure himself to further lawsuits. His case has upset the agricultural environment and led to the creation of a civic collection – supported, among others, by PSL politicians – to cover part of the claimed compensation.
The Minister of Agriculture does not hold outrage:
– specified situations are unacceptable. It cannot be that individual is carrying out legal activities, and the court considers that the fragrances associated with agricultural production are a violation of the neighbours' individual property –
commented Krajewski, announcing the alleged "Lex Fetor" or amendment of the rules, which is to clearly find that the village is primarily the place of work of the farmer.
Response of the Ministry – Amendment of the law and protection of the production function of the village
The case of a farmer from Łódź immediately echoed widely in agricultural environments and in the ministry. For Stefan Krajewski, it was an impulse to announce plans to amend the provisions, which – as he said – are clearly intended to defend farmers from akin lawsuits.
“It needs to be clarified that if individual buys a property in a agrarian area, he must number on the character of this space,” said the Minister in an interview with WP Finance. – The village is not only quiet and quiet, but besides work, smells and noises resulting from agricultural production. We request to make it clear in the regulations.
The Ministry plans to amend respective legal acts: in the civilian Code, the Act on Offences, as well as in government on spatial planning. But the most crucial thing is to change awareness. Krajewski announced an educational run aimed at the fresh residents of the village, which is to make them aware of where they settle and what this involves.
One of the solutions under consideration is the introduction of an information clause for persons purchasing land in agrarian areas. specified persons would be required to know the nature of the environment, including the presence of intensive farms. This would minimise the hazard of subsequent conflicts and litigation.
“Someone who builds a home next to a pighouse or a henhouse cannot pretend to be amazed that the odor comes from it. Just as 1 cannot live by the tracks and sue PKP for noise," Krajewski emphasized in an interview with Polsat News.
Nor does the Minister regulation out changes in spatial planning rules. The amendment could require the creation of "buffer zones" around intensive farms – green belts or method areas separating residential and agricultural buildings.
Meanwhile, the farmer himself did not stay without support. After media coverage of the case, PSL politicians declared that they would contribute funds from the party's fundraiser for Kluka. In addition, Krajewski announced the creation of an intervention fund for farmers affected in akin cases.
– It's a precedent situation, but I'm afraid it's not the last. Therefore, we must act rapidly –
added the Minister, announcing that the draft amendment would go to the Sejm "in the coming weeks".
The voice of farmers – the right to operate and to know whether the ignorance of fresh residents?
On the whole, farmers themselves besides spoke. In their opinion, the dispute over smells is not only absurd, but besides a threat to the sense of the village as a production space. For many of them, the judgement against Simon Kluce is simply a signal that even the legitimate conduct of activities can be regarded as burdensome only due to the fact that individual is disturbed by its natural side effect.
Sławomir Izdebski, president of agricultural OPZZ, did not dress up in words:
– If someone's building a home in the country, it's with the cognition that sometimes it stinks. You cannot anticipate the odor of lavender erstwhile individual next to you breeds pigs or cows," he said in a conversation with WP. – specified processes are not only detached from reality, but dangerous. People are afraid to invest in production.
Farmers point out that the problem is not the vicinity itself – they have been dealing with it for generations – but fresh residents, frequently from cities that come to the countryside with expectations from improvement catalogues. They are waiting for the idylls, and erstwhile they do not get them, they go to court.
– We are dealing with the progressive urbanization of the village. but the village isn't a single-family estate. It is simply a work area, sound and fertilizers," explained Gustav Jędrejek, president of the Lublin Agricultural Chamber.
It is this progressive change in the nature of the village – from production to recreation – that is most worrying about the agricultural environment. In their opinion, if the legislature does not respond now, in a fewer years many farms will be forced to shut down for fear of costly lawsuits.
Many farmers besides point out that the current rules are vague and give area for abuse. In practice, what is “compulsive” determines the subjective feeling of the neighbour – not the hard criteria.
– It can't be that a farmer grows cattle for 20 years and then individual builds up next to him and says he stinks. It was not the farmer who changed – only the neighbour came with a different anticipation – said 1 of the farmers from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian state in a conversation with RMF radio.
The agricultural environment expects fast legislative action. They emphasize that they are not against residents, but they want the village to stay a place where food can be produced without fear of a suit for fetor.
Conflict in a wider context – village vs. sport, RPO alerts
Although the case of Simon Kluka has become a symbol of the clash between the villagers and farmers, this is not an isolated case. In fresh years, a number of akin conflicts have developed in Poland, the common denominator of which is the alleged immissions – i.e. noise, smells or another effects of activity carried out in 1 place, which affect neighbouring properties. And it's not just about agriculture.
In 1 of the communes close Warsaw, the owners of the home sued the commune for sound from a close field. Although a sports facility existed earlier and residents built a home consciously in its neighbourhood, the court recognized their claims. This is simply a case akin to the dispute over the stench of the pigsty – and another signal that the deficiency of precise regulation can lead to paralysis of public or economical action.
The Ombudsman has repeatedly intervened in specified cases. In 2024 his office published a position informing against excessive liberalisation of sound protection legislation:
– Changing the law to limit protection against nuisances can affect citizens' rights and violate the constitutional rule of proportionality –
wrote RPO in an opinion addressed to the Sejm.
However, there is no shortage of votes that the problem lies not so much in protecting citizens as in the absence of clear rules and predictability of the law. Where there are no explicit records to defend the activities conducted legally and according to the destination of the site, emotions and interpretations are decided.
This legislative chaos becomes peculiarly visible in places where production or sports functions collide with the increasing force of housing – like in villages, suburbs or tiny towns.
– Poland cannot be a country where all form of activity – from training children on the field to breeding pigs – becomes a legal hazard –
commented in “Rzeczpospolita” by Prof. Marek Chmaj, a constitutionalist.
For many experts, this is simply a clear signal: a coherent improvement of neighbourhood government is needed, which will reconcile the right to a peaceful life with the right to legal activity. Without it not only farmers, but besides local governments or sports clubs will operate in a constant state of emergency.
Why these changes are essential – balance of interests and food security
A dispute about smells in the countryside is not just a substance of the comfort of the inhabitants or the right of the farmer to work. This is besides a question about the future of Polish agriculture and food safety of the country. If agricultural production is increasingly blocked by local conflicts, judicial processes and urban pressures, it may turn out that Poland – so far self-sufficient in terms of food – will become an importer of products that could produce itself.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Stefan Krajewski has no uncertainty about this:
– The village is simply a place of agricultural production and the farmer cannot pay compensation for unpleasant odors which are an integral part of that production –
said in an interview with money.pl.
A akin position is held by erstwhile agriculture minister Marek Sawicki, who stressed that villagers must be aware that the village is not a villa estate:
– If individual buys a game next to the farm, then they can't claim that there are animals there. It's like surviving on a river and demanding that she halt swimming –
He was ironic in Polsat News.
On the another hand, manufacture organisations point out that agricultural production is presently at double risk: on the 1 hand, by marketplace instability and EU policy, on the another hand, by local disputes and deficiency of legal support.
– If we do not warrant a safe legal environment for farmers, they will halt investing and this will affect the full supply chain –
warns the National Council of Agricultural Chambers in its August 2025 position.
At the heart of this dispute is the request to strike a balance between the 2 legitimate interests. On the 1 hand, there are residents who have the right to live in an unburdened environment. On the another hand, farmers who cannot be punished for the effects of activities that the state not only allows but even supports subsidies.
A precise regulation that clearly defines what is acceptable as an component of average agricultural activity may prove to be crucial. The deficiency of specified rules causes that present the destiny of farms is decided not by laws, but by subjective sentiments of neighbours and judgments of courts – frequently divergent and unpredictable.
Future scenarios – what can change in practice?
The announcements of Minister Krajewski and the voices of agricultural organisations clearly indicate: a circumstantial government is needed to end the current state of uncertainty. Work on the alleged "Lex Fetor" is not only intended to order neighbourly relations, but besides to give farmers a warrant that their activity, if legal, will not be a origin for claims. But what precisely can change?
The first real step is to change the civilian Code. The aim is to clarify what immissions are and in which cases they may be regarded as a violation of individual property. Today, the rules are so general that they let the courts to interpret widely – which has just led to a precedent judgement against Simon Kluce. Another component is changes in spatial planning. 1 of the proposals is the work to make "buffer zones" between fresh housing investments and agricultural holdings. This would be, for example, green belts, method areas or another forms of separation of surviving space from production.
The Ministry of Agriculture is besides considering introducing mandatory information erstwhile purchasing land in the countryside. The purchaser would gotta sign a paper confirming that he would live close farms carrying on farming or cultivation. specified a solution already exists in France, for example, where the alleged "rural certificate" is simply a condition for obtaining a construction permit.
– The point is not to discourage anyone from surviving in the country. We just want the decision to be conscious and then not to be amazed that in the spring they are fertilising fields and in the summertime the harvester works until midnight – explained Krajewski in “Rzeczpospolita”.
In parallel, there are proposals for amendments to the Code of Offence. They would block the anticipation of punishing farmers for “disturbing” economical activities carried out in accordance with the rules. However, experts inform against rush. The Ombudsman has already announced that he will analyse any change in terms of the constitutional rights of citizens.
– The State cannot unilaterally defend 1 group at the expense of another. We request solutions that are proportionate and fair – we read in the August 2025 RPO position.
Other ideas under consideration besides include: restrictions on the working hours of agricultural machinery close residential buildings, the work to study planned production to the municipality or the anticipation for farmers to be insured against neighbouring claims. All these proposals have 1 goal: to end legal chaos and reconstruct clear rules of play. Farmers want to be able to invest and work without fear. Residents – know what they compose for erstwhile they settle in the countryside. And the state – guarantee that both will be possible without common war.
Does the village inactive have the right to odor like a village?
Simon Kluka's case is not just a local conflict between neighbors. It has become a symbol of a deeper problem that affects not only farmers, but all participants of agrarian life – besides those who search peace there after escaping the city. At the interface of these 2 worlds, there are increasingly clashes of interests, which uncover a gap in law and shortcomings in public awareness.
Ministerial legislative announcements, agricultural pressures and an expanding number of akin cases show that the case can no longer be swept under the carpet. The Polish village must get a clear message: if you want to produce food, you must defend it – besides from lawsuits for... smelling the village.
But safety can't mean anything. Precise rules are needed: what is slow, what is not, where you can grow, and where you can build houses. The village cannot become either a farming-free region or a ghetto for a privileged group.
All indications indicate that the next fewer months will bring decisive changes. If they are done wisely – including the voice of farmers, residents and experts – Poland can avoid a wave of conflicts that already erupts in subsequent municipalities today.
– We must find a compromise between the right to work and the right to live. And callback that the village – before it became a fashionable place to live – was just a place of work –
Says 1 of the farmers in Lublin.
Can we make fresh rules for coexistence in the countryside? Will the village inactive odor like a village? The answer will be next weeks – and laws that are inactive in the task phase today.
