Representatives of Latvian farmers meet with Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski in Brussels today

Today, January 30, a meeting will take place in Brussels with the European Commission (EC) Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, to once again remind of the need to increase direct payments and rural development funding, as well as to discuss the most important new requirements that are unacceptable to Latvian farmers.

Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of the Association "Farmers' Council": "Although, in relation to the European Union (EU) multi-annual budget and agricultural financing, the greatest burden currently falls on the European Council and our Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, we will also remind EC Agriculture Commissioner Wojciech Wojciechowski once again of the importance of a fair level of direct payments for farmers in the Baltic States."

The current EC offer to Latvia envisages a slight increase in direct payments. Continuing at this pace, we could receive equal direct payments only around 2100, which is unacceptable. Contrary to the slight increase in direct payments, the EC also proposes to reduce rural development funding by 15%, from which it mainly finances environmentally and climate-friendly agricultural practices, the arrangement of rural infrastructure, investments in small rural enterprises and processing. Such a step draws a bold line for the hoped-for development of rural regions.

Let's also talk about the new requirements set by the EC that our farmers may have to comply with after 2021. There is no doubt that the new European "Green Deal" is welcome, and agriculture must move towards increasingly environmentally and climate-friendly methods, however, a number of new restrictions are not only illogical, but also pointless in Latvia's climatic conditions, only creating additional costs for our producers."

During the meeting, Latvian farmers will be represented by Maira Dzelzkalēja-Burmistre and Valters Zelčs (Farmers' Saeima), Edgars Ruža (Latvian Association of Agricultural Cooperatives), Agnese Hauka (Latvian Farmers' Federation) and Kaspars Melnis (Association of Agricultural Statutory Societies), who will express in the discussion the need to provide fair support to farmers in the implementation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and the European Green Deal. Also participating in the discussion will be Latvian MEP Roberts Zīle, who has pledged to follow up on agriculture-related issues in this term.

It should be recalled that since joining the EU in 2004, farmers from all three Baltic States have received the lowest level of direct payments, currently only 54–60% of the European average. Moreover, production costs are much higher than the EU average – 129% (Estonia), 112% (Lithuania) and 113% (Latvia), respectively.