Farmers call for urgent adoption of restrictions on agricultural land purchases

The association "Farmers' Saeima" and the Latvian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives call on the members of the Saeima Committee on National Economy, Agrarian, Environmental and Regional Policy not to delay in forwarding the draft law "Amendments to the Law "On Land Privatization in Rural Areas"" to the Saeima plenary session, so that it can be adopted at the last plenary session of this session next Thursday, June 19.

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For a month and a half now, the Latvian agricultural land market has been open to any actions by citizens of the European Union, and both organizations are calling on the deputies to postpone issues on which a quick agreement is not possible, and to urgently decide on the adoption of the draft law in the Saeima. Juris Lazdiņš, Chairman of the Association “Farmers’ Saeima”, calls on the deputies to realize that this draft law is one of the most important for the future existence and development of the renewed Latvian agriculture.

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J.Lazdins: "By delaying the decision, there is a risk that the absurd situation will continue throughout the summer, that there are no restrictions on the acquisition of agricultural land in Latvia. Right now, it is necessary to close the priorities, put aside mutual disagreements and jointly make the best strategic decision for the country of Latvia.".

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Currently, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the process of considering the draft law has been the initiative to set restrictions on the size of land owned by farms, both for individuals and legal entities. Ilze Aizsilniece, deputy chairwoman of the board of the Latvian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives, points out that setting any restrictions on land area requires a more in-depth study of the national economy.

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I.Aizsilniece: "This is a very important decision that can affect the future existence of hundreds of farms. Decision-makers must understand how important each farm is to every rural parish in Latvia as an employer and taxpayer, therefore we call for the current draft law not to include restrictions or to determine a temporary solution - the 2,000 ha proposed by the sector's policy maker, the Ministry of Agriculture, and after conducting research by economic experts, to return to this issue again in the fall to make a balanced and numerically based decision."

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