Juris Lazdiņš: the continuation of the protests will be determined by the results of the negotiations

Negotiations with politicians and representatives of individual ministries will continue next week regarding the implementation of the demands submitted by farmers.

"It is important for us to continue, agree and realistically achieve acceptance of all the demands submitted by farmers, so we will continue negotiations with government and civil service representatives over the next week. At the same time, the necessary documents for the farmers' protests will be submitted to the Riga City Council. in the capital in February, because "The coming weeks will be decisive. The near future will show whether the commitment of politicians and civil servants to actively work for the benefit of the entire agricultural sector is not just a temporary promise," Juris Lazdiņš, the coordinator of the farmers' protests and chairman of the board of the association "Farmers' Council", informs.

He emphasizes that he is currently “positively cautious” about the progress of negotiations with the Minister of Agriculture and representatives of the ministry. This week's meeting with the Speaker of the Saeima, Daigas Mieriņš, can be considered successful. At the same time, there are still “open issues” after the meeting with Prime Minister Eviks Siliņš.

Hazelnut: “Over the past week, we have been facing various types of “attacks” from interested companies that are categorically against point 1 of the farmers’ demand for an immediate ban on imports into our country. for all food products and fodder, which is imported from Russia and Belarus. The Saeima is scheduled to consider the draft law “On the Prohibition of Certain Agricultural Products from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Entering the Latvian Market” next Thursday.".

The issue of the renewal of the 5% VAT on fruits, berries, and vegetables characteristic of Latvia has still not progressed. This week, the methodology was discussed with representatives of the Ministry of Finance, while the renewal of the VAT rate for a specific product group is a political decision. Unfortunately, farmers are still being ignored by the Minister of Finance, Arvils Ašeradens.

Today, work continues with the Ministry of Agriculture on requirement point 3, “Reduce bureaucracy in the agricultural sector.”

Hazelnut: “We have already informed that the current online reporting system developed by the ministry is not user-friendly. It has technical shortcomings, creating additional problems for farmers on a daily basis. Also, according to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan (SP) of Latvia, absurd, fragmented and illogical requirements have been adopted for farmers, the implementation of which and its proof (for example, photo fixation) require considerable additional resources (time, finance). Also, often in real life these requirements are actually unfeasible. We hope that this issue will be reflected in the Cabinet regulations within the next week.”

It is positive that changes to the regulatory enactments regarding requirement point 4 "on a broader approach to insurance and working capital programs" have been submitted to the Legal Acts Portal, thus the process is underway to consider the issue at a Cabinet meeting.

In turn, on the issue of Latvia's refusal from national-level land use restrictions, we have scheduled a meeting with the Ministry of Regional Development, Urbanization and Regional Planning. We hope that the ministry's representatives will have time to meet with us promptly and seek a solution. The essence of this requirement is the problem that currently, in accordance with European directives, it is planned to impose restrictions on lands owned by farmers and foresters, thus significantly reducing usable areas without compensation and affecting the economic activities of many farms. "We must not blindly agree to European rules and not fight for support for Latvian farmers at the national level."If a landowner has taken out large loans to buy land for production, cultivated it, invested in it, but at one point Latvian politicians actually prohibit the use of the land for production; the landowner alone should not bear the burden."," adds J. Lazdins.

Lazdiņš emphasizes that the coming weeks will be crucial in deciding the next steps for farmers.