On 9 September in Copenhagen, Denmark, Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze held a bilateral meeting with European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, to inform him about the severe difficulties faced by Latvian agriculture this year due to unpredictable climatic conditions. During the discussions, the Minister urged the European Commission to assess as soon as possible the possibility of granting EU emergency support to Latvia’s agricultural sector, which is currently under a state of emergency.
Minister Krauze: “By 25th August, farmers had reported to the Rural Support Service a total of 78 500 hectares of damaged or unplanted fields. These figures reflect only officially submitted data – many farmers have not yet reported their losses. Weather conditions have affected the entire sector across the whole country. The situation is extremely serious – either there will be no harvest at all, or the quality will be very low. Emergency support from the European Union is vitally important to help us preserve the viability of the sector, ensure food production, and mitigate the negative socio-economic impact on rural areas.”
Given the adverse weather conditions, farmers are unable to meet crop diversification requirements. Therefore, the Minister also called on the Commissioner to allow derogations from the eco-schemes’ regulatory framework. Such a solution would help prevent a deeper crisis in agriculture and maintain farmers’ economic viability under these exceptionally difficult circumstances.
Commissioner Christophe Hansen confirmed that the European Commission is assessing the situation in Latvia’s agriculture and will communicate its decision as soon as possible.