In February 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with partners started implementation of the project of the Norwegian financial instrument “Enhancement of sustainable land soil resource management in agriculture” to update the information on Latvian agricultural soil and to obtain information on carbon changes in soil and factors of glasshouse gas emissions, characteristic for the country.
It is planned to use this information in working out solutions for a sustainable management of agricultural land, providing additional information for a wise and modern management.
The updated national soil data will improve the climate-oriented information on soil to be used in climate change policy as well as to increase the knowledge of experts on sustainable soil management. At the same time, this newly updated national data could be used by the State management institutions, farmers and non-governmental organizations as well as research institutions upon developing and implementing the climate policy.
The project results will provide additional information on soil for land managers thus facilitating a more efficient use of agricultural resources, ensuring higher quality of agricultural produce, and maintaining competitiveness of the sector at the same time reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment and thus conserving ecosystems.
The partners of the Ministry of Agriculture in implementation of the pre‑defined project “Enhancement of sustainable soil resource management in agriculture” of the Norway Grants Climate and Environment Program 2014 – 2021 “Climate change mitigation, adaptation to them and the environment” are the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, the Latvian Forest Science Institute SILAVA, the State Plant Protection Service and the University of Latvia. The project term - January 31, 2024.
The planned project budget is EUR 1,83 million, including the Norway grant EUR 1,56 million and EUR 0,27 million - the national co-financing.
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