From October 28th to 30th, Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze and State Secretary Ģirts Krūmiņš visited the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agriculture, food security, education, and sustainable development.
During the visit, bilateral meetings were held with Dr. Patricia Peill, Chair of the Committee on Environment, Nature and Consumer Protection, Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Areas of the North Rhine-Westphalia Parliament; Silke Gorißen, Minister for Agriculture and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia; as well as Karl Werring, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture, and Dr. Arne Dahlhoff, the Chamber’s Director.
The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the use of digital solutions and artificial intelligence in agriculture, management of wolf populations, financing of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), sanctions policy against Russia and Belarus, and support for border regions. Special attention was given to sustainable food supply chains, food safety, cooperation between farmers, processors, and consumers, and the importance of quality education in training agricultural specialists. The future of the peat industry was also discussed, as peat remains a valuable and irreplaceable resource for agricultural use.
During the visit, the Latvian delegation visited the Testing and Training Center of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture and the company “Pfeifer & Langen”, which, in cooperation with the agricultural cooperative “Latraps”, is implementing a pea protein factory project in Jelgava, Latvia.
The delegation also visited CLAAS, one of Germany’s largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The Minister and the State Secretary discussed opportunities for cooperation to provide students with access to modern technical infrastructure and to promote the adoption of cutting-edge agricultural technologies in Latvian educational institutions.