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Tag: agriculture

From 2025, the Agricultural Data Centre’s tasks will be taken over by the Rural Support Service

Starting from January 1, 2025, all the services previously provided by the Agricultural Data Centre (ADC) will be delivered by the Rural Support Service (RSS).

No changes will be introduced to the range of paid services, and clients will continue to have access to all existing systems and registers. The procedure for animal registration, as well as the European Union’s requirements for the registration and identification of animals, will remain unchanged.

This decision was made to establish a unified system, ensuring simplified and flexible oversight of the agricultural sector while reducing the fragmentation and overlap of state administrative functions.

The consolidation of functions under the institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture will facilitate faster exchange of information between institutions and private individuals, thereby improving and simplifying services provided to the public and enhancing their quality. Since RSS has nine territorial units – regional agricultural administrations – farmers will continue to receive the necessary services in their regions.

RSS will also adopt the practices of previous years, ensuring that farmers can order and receive animal identification tools. Additionally, RSS will represent national interests in international organizations overseeing and evaluating agricultural animals, including the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) and the Interbull Centre for the evaluation of breeding bulls.

A commission established by the Ministry of Agriculture will ensure the inventory of ADC’s material and non-material assets, financial resources, and obligations by December 31, 2024, as well as the transfer of archives and record-keeping to RSS. Changes related to the reallocation of funding between institutions will be carried out within a single state budget sub-program. The commission will also assess the number of personnel to be transferred from ADC and prepare the ADC’s closing balance sheet.

Source of information: Rural Support Service

Increased support rate in agri-environmental measures for organic farmers and grassland habitat managers

On December 10, Latvian government approved amendments to the regulations governing support from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) for implementing area and animal-based commitments. These amendments increase the 2024 support rates for organic farmers in two agri-environmental measures – LA10.4 and LA11 – as well as for all those managing biologically valuable grasslands under measure LA10.5.

With the rate increase*, farmers who implemented interventions LA10.4, LA10.5, and LA11 in 2024 will have their support recalculated. As a result, the total support amount they receive will be higher than initially planned in the spring.

Since the Rural Support Service has already started distributing EAFRD payments for area- and animal-based support, the support rates for farmers’ 2024 spatial applications will be recalculated by the end of December. This recalculation will include the increased rates and other additional adjustments.

* The decision of the European Commission approving amendments to Latvia’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan for 2024.

Information source: Ministry of Agriculture

Amendments to the Strategic Plan of the Latvian CAP 2023-2027 approved by the EC simplify the application of support payments to farmers

On November 12, the European Commission (EC) approved the Second Amendment to the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy of Latvia (CAP SP) for 2023-2027 developed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The main changes concern the application of direct payments and rural development interventions, simplifying conditions and avoiding excessive detailing of requirements.

The CAP SP revises a number of provisions of good Agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standards, specifying them for the protection of wetlands and peatlands, the establishment of buffer strips along water bodies and plant changes. Simplified conditions for the grant of multi-ecoscheme support in order to reduce the administrative burden on farmers by avoiding excessive detailing of CAP SP requirements. The conditions for a system of social conditions relating to working and employment conditions or to the obligations of the employer have been laid down. Changes to direct payment measures (interventions) will apply from 2025 onwards.

The CAP SP also specifies the conditions for a number of rural development measures. For more information on the amendments approved by the EC, visit website of the Ministry of Agriculture.

For the implementation of the CAP SP, EUR 2.5 billion is foreseen for 2023-2027, with the largest part of the funding, or EUR 1.714 billion, in the form of direct payments. EUR 0.791 billion is foreseen for rural development measures and EUR 10.1 million for support measures for the common organisation of the market.

Amendments to the CAP Strategic Plan were prepared by experts from the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with industry, organising several CAP expert working groups in the first quarter of 2024. At the meetings, experts discussed and agreed on the necessary amendments together with farmers’ and environmental non-governmental organisations. The amendments to the CAP SP on 14 May 2024 were also agreed with the monitoring Committee of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

The Latvian CAP SP is a medium-term policy planning document that defines support priorities and support instruments for agriculture and also rural development. After the first year of implementation of CAP support, it was concluded that changes to a number of support measures were needed to reduce the level of detailing of conditions in the CAP SP and the administrative burden on farmers and to increase the interest of farmers in applying for a wider range of support.

Information source: Ministry of Agriculture

ActusQ Newsletter October 2024

ActusQ October newsletter about current topicalities in European and Latvian agricultural sector has been published! At the end of the newsletter you will find selected agricultural real estate offers.

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Latvia stresses the need to simplify CAP in discussions of agricultural policy makers of EU Member States

At the informal meeting of the Council of Ministers for Agriculture of the European Union (EU) held from 8 to 10 September, agricultural policy makers and experts talked about the necessary elements for the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2027. In order to ensure sustainability and competitiveness and to manage crisis situations, it is necessary to significantly reduce bureaucracy and administrative burden.

Latvia, represented by Ģirts Krūmiņš, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture , emphasized in the discussion that the European Commission should review the conditions for implementation of the CAP and simplify them, as well as reduce the detailing of the information to be reported in the CAP Strategic Plan (SP). The administrative burden on farmers has increased many times and needs to be reduced.

Similarly, the European Commission (EC) is not sufficiently forthcoming toward adjustment of the planned indicators and the modification of the value of the planned results. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) is concerned whether and how it will be possible to adapt the CAP SP and whether the planned timetable will allow the anomalies identified to be corrected in a timely manner.

In order for the CAP to continue supporting farmers in the implementation of the European Green Deal, to ensure sustainable farming and, at the same time, not to lose competitiveness on the market, it is necessary to identify gradually and purposefully the “green objectives” and the benefits thereof. At the same time, it is important to offer voluntary and manageable “green transition” measures, in return for support to compensate for at least part of costs and income foregone. There is also a need for high-quality training on the benefits of the green transition, the latest technologies and economic benefits, and the exchange of experiences between farmers. All this requires sufficient financial resources and investment and a simpler and more flexible approach to implementing the measures.

On the other hand, in order to better cope with crises in agriculture, it would be necessary to develop a system for anticipating and acting on crises at the EU level, as it is primarily necessary to deal with crises rather than their consequences. At the same time, the availability of adequate EU funding for crisis management needs to be considered, according to ZM experts.

Overcoming the difficulties, caused by emergencies, should not be left to each Member State alone, according to representatives of the ZM delegation. However, each Member State must strengthen farmers’ risk-taking capacity and also their responsibility for the consequences if the farmer himself has not made use of risk mitigation options such as insurance.

Information source: Ministry of Agriculture

Storm and heavy rain in July caused damage to 15.8 thousand ha for farmers in Latvia

The storm and heavy rain experienced on July 28 and 29 this year caused damage to 15.8 thousand hectares for farmers, according to information submitted by farmers to the Rural Support Service (RSS).

In total, RSS received 232 storm damage applications. Of the total reported area, 11.2 thousand hectares were insured, while 4.6 thousand hectares were uninsured.

Of the reported areas, 46.7% are winter wheat, 13.6% are winter rapeseed, 11.1% are oats, and 6.6% are spring wheat. The majority of these areas are insured. Additionally, there were registered areas of peas, field beans, rye, barley, potatoes, and other crops that were affected by the storm and heavy rain.

The most damage was reported in the Zemgale region, specifically in Dobele and Jelgava counties.

Information prepared by Rural Support Service and the Ministry of Agriculture

ActusQ Newsletter August 2024

ActusQ August newsletter about current topicalities in European and Latvian agricultural sector has been published! At the end of the newsletter you will find selected agricultural real estate offers.

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Latvia among European Union leaders in direct payment disbursement

In Latvia, 99% of direct payments for 2023 have already been disbursed to farmers, making Latvia one of the leaders in the European Union (EU) in direct payments disbursement.

The Director of the Rural Support Service, Ģirts Krūmiņš, stated: “Thanks to the Electronic Application System introduced many years ago and the consultations provided by the Rural Support Service both online and in person, we have managed to disburse 99 percent of direct payments for the 2023 farming season to Latvian farmers by the end of May. This is a very good indicator at the EU level. The remaining one percent of direct payments will be disbursed in June.”

Austria and Sweden hold the leading positions with 100% direct payment disbursement. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia follow with 99%. So far, the slowest disbursements of direct payments have occurred in Bulgaria (66%), Slovenia (71%), Luxembourg (73%), the Netherlands (73%), Croatia (73%), and Slovakia (74%).

Published: 06.06.2024.
Information source: Ministry of Agriculture

ActusQ Newsletter May 2024

ActusQ May newsletter about current topicalities in Latvian agricultural sector has been published! At the end of the newsletter you will find selected agricultural real estate offers.

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