Farmers welcome initiatives launched by the Ministry of Agriculture regarding overgrown agricultural lands

The association "Farmers' Council" is pleased that the Ministry of Agriculture is aware of the seriousness of the situation and is ready to make changes to the "Forest Law" to facilitate the return of overgrown agricultural land to production.

Juris Lazdins, Chairman of the Association "Farmers' Council": "For more than half a year, together with local governments, we have been trying to resolve the issue of the absurd regulation of the "Forest Law", which creates an unnecessary bureaucratic burden for returning overgrown agricultural land to production. We are pleased that the Ministry of Agriculture has now understood the seriousness of the problem and is starting to look for the most appropriate solutions. We are also pleased with the "Cooperation Council of Farmers' Organizations", which, contrary to the initially expressed skepticism about our initiative, is now starting to show genuine interest in resolving the issue.

We remind you that currently in Latvia forest areas reach approximately 58% of the total area and their expansion at the expense of agricultural land is an ill-considered and short-sighted action. There are countless farmers in Latvia who remove vegetation from the land. This cannot be done in a year, two, or even three years. It is a process that takes years, in which young farmers who want to live and work in the countryside, but already cultivated land is not so easily accessible, are especially active.

Message to the media: PRes_Farmers welcome the initiatives launched by the Ministry of Agriculture on the issue of overgrown agricultural lands