by Yue Yuanyuan, Guo Shuang

WARSAW, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Folk music filled the air as people in traditional costumes danced, local residents sold agricultural products and handicrafts, and families wandered among stalls at a harvest festival in Warsaw over the weekend.

The festival is one of Poland's long-standing rural traditions, held after the main fieldwork and harvests are completed.

Traditionally, farmers give thanks for the crops they have gathered and celebrate the end of months of work in the fields.

Yet behind this year's festive atmosphere lies a difficult growing season marked by sharp weather swings.

Poland experienced unfavorable weather conditions for agriculture this year, according to Statistics Poland.

In its preliminary estimate released in late July, the agency put production of basic cereals and cereal mixtures at 25.3 million tonnes this year, down about 4.9 percent from 2025.

Rapeseed production was projected to fall 14.4 percent, while fruit harvested from trees was expected to decline by 18.6 percent and output from fruit bushes and berry plantations by 6.5 percent.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said frosts in April caused temperatures near the ground to fall as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius in some areas, damaging sour and sweet cherries, raspberries and currants.

Drought added another layer of pressure.

Poland's agricultural drought monitoring system found drought conditions affecting a wide range of crops between March and July, including cereals, rapeseed, fruit bushes and maize.

Stanislaw and Barbara Wojcik, an elderly farming couple who grow wheat and rye and sell homemade bread at the festival, said "We harvested less wheat and rye than last year. There was too little rain at some stages, and the heat also affected the crops."

The picture emerging from the harvest festival, however, was not entirely bleak.

Alexander Sobolev, who sells bottled freshly pressed fruit juice and has lived in Poland for four years, said "apples are expected to be very good, and there were a lot of strawberries."

For beekeeper Krzysztof Tomkielski, the changing weather brought more gains than losses. Sunny weather was particularly favorable for buckwheat honey. "There was more honey than last year," he said.

The sector's resilience is also supported by government measures. Poland has 2.4 million bee colonies, the second-largest number in the European Union after Spain, and nearly 100,000 active beekeepers, according to the Polish government.

Funding for this year's beekeeping support programs has been increased by 20 million zlotys (about 5.4 million U.S. dollars).

The harvest may have been uneven, but the difficulties of the growing season did little to dampen the festive spirit. Music played, children watched folk performances, and farmers stood behind their stalls smiling and talking with visitors.

"It is not only about having a very good harvest," said Sobolev. "People come here to be thankful for what they have and celebrate the work of the whole season."