The Ministry of Agriculture’s three priorities for 2025:
- Reducing bureaucracy and administrative burdens within the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as equalizing direct payments after 2027
“Together with other member states, we must immediately work on simplifying the current EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to ensure that EU support funding is invested as efficiently as possible in strengthening and developing rural farms and businesses. At present, CAP is overly complex and imposes a massive administrative burden on farmers and regulatory authorities, which prevents us from allocating funding to rural entrepreneurs more precisely, swiftly, and in accordance with the situation both in Latvia and in international markets.
Another important issue is the significant disparities in direct payment amounts among EU member states, which put Latvian farmers at a competitive disadvantage. Therefore, the principle of equality—so often emphasized at the EU level—must finally be implemented in the distribution of direct payments during the next EU planning period starting in 2028,” says Armands Krauze, Minister for Agriculture.
- Increasing the share of domestically produced food in public procurement and retail, while also promoting the consumption of local products
Currently, global market conditions and local regulations often prevent Latvian food producers from competing with imported products. There is potential for an increase in the share of domestically produced food in both retail and public procurement in Latvia. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture will push for immediate measures to promote the inclusion of local food in national and municipal procurement processes, as well as to encourage greater consumption of local products.
- Reviewing the Green Deal requirements to enhance Latvia’s economic competitiveness
Armands Krauze also emphasizes that it is time to review the EU Green Deal requirements to improve Latvia’s economic competitiveness and ensure a balance between economic, social, and environmental interests, so that agricultural and food production in Latvia is not threatened. “The uncritical and excessive implementation of the Green Deal could cause significant harm to the economy. It must be understood that all nature and environmental climate protection measures are financed from revenues, which mostly come from production,” Krauze stresses.
Information source: Ministry of Agriculture
