Within the planning period for the years 2014 – 2020 of Latvian Rural Development Program (RDP), Latvia introduced 16 support activities. In general, since the commencement of RDP implementation, 82 project tender application rounds were announced until late 2019, as well as area payments were paid every year.
The activity of applicants for support were high. In general, during the project tender application rounds, 48,485 project applications with the total public funding of EUR 1,432.4 million were submitted since the beginning of the planning period, including 34,418 confirmed projects with the total public funding of EUR 898.5 million confirmed by the end of 2019, or 94.0% of the public funding available within the framework of the implementation of project activity.
The total confirmed public funding in all RDP activities (projects and area payments) by the end of 2019 reached EUR 1,414.4 million, or 92.3%, but the funding paid out was EUR 1,064.4 million, or 69.5% of the funding available during the period.
The highest amount of public funding, as well as the highest number of approved projects fall within the sub-activity “Support for Investment in Rural Farms”, of the support activity “Investment in Material Assets”. The next largest amount of approved public funding falls within the sub-activity “Basic Services and Renewal of Villages in Rural Areas”. Then the sub-activity “Support of Investments in the Development of Agriculture and Forestry Infrastructure” follows. A high activity is observed in the sub-activity “Support for the Implementation of Actions in Accordance with Community-Driven Local Development Strategy”.
It is important to mention that in 2019 the area of insured cultivated sown and planted areas of the farms that applied for the partial remuneration of the costs of purchases of insurance policies within the activity “Crop, Animal and Plant Insurance Premium” has increased (more than 1.7 times).
The payments of support in the area payment dependent activities for the maintenance and improvement of environmental, climate and rural landscape, and the areas applied for support in some activities have slightly exceeded the planned target indicators of the Rural Development Program.
Information source: Ministry of Agriculture
