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According to him, payments to farmers will be calculated next year after declaring available land.
Farmer and MP Kazys Starkevičius says the most important thing now is whether these funds will be used effectively, because so far many mistakes have been made.
“We will start with an average of 200 euros. It will not be the case that each farmer receives those 200 euros. It will depend on the hectares of land available, the fulfillment of the obligations,” the Minister told BNS.
He drew attention to another important EU decision: to allow those countries whose direct payments are below the EU average to use up to 30% of the funds to allocate them to the second pillar, that is, rural development. transferred to direct payments.
“The Ministry will consider and try to converge in 2027. We will plan that second pillar so that we have to throw money at the first. Although the European endowment is decreasing compared to this period, given that Lithuania is divided into two regions, where the intensity of (use of money – BNS) is different, we will have a sum of money in the second pillar in the same way as in this period, “said A. Palionis
According to the minister, there are now 2.93 million. ha of arable land. He doubts that in the future cultivated land will increase significantly and will certainly not reach the record of 3.3 million in Soviet times. say ah.
“Those hectares are growing at a much slower rate than before. We still have to convert many hectares (about 8 thousand ha per year – SNB) into forests. There are still commitments on climate change. For example, peatlands … an attempt to block those areas that are used for peat bogs, “said the Minister.
This week, the president of the Lithuanian Farmers Union, Jonas Talmantas, calculated in the BNS that Lithuanian farmers would receive 10% of direct payments per year. more if the arable land does not become vacant land.
“We cut and cut abandoned bushes and peat bogs. By increasing the areas, we dilute those benefits and stand still,” he explained.
A. Palionis admits that Lithuania’s ambitions in the negotiations on EU support were higher than the result achieved, but, according to him, everything is redeemed by the fact that funds are allocated to the first pillar and not to the second .
“The maximum has been reached. What is brought back is welcome. Because they would have lost a little in the second pillar, for example, those 125 million are not registered. Seven years later, when there are new negotiations, they may not have them again. Now it will be solved and it will not be able to decrease, “said A. Palionis.
Meanwhile, the president of the Lithuanian Chamber of Agriculture, Arūnas Svitojus, calls this achievement by Lithuania just a small victory in the fight for higher direct payments.
“We have not gained much, because the EU average, at least 90%, will be very far for us in 2027. Now we are not reaching 60%, and we will reach perhaps 78%. We will have to continue fighting. We only won one of the battles, “he told BNS.
A. Svitojus recalled that Lithuanian farmers, demanding higher direct payments, organized seven protests in Brussels
According to the Committee on Rural Affairs, conservative farmer Kazys Starkevičius, knowing all the circumstances of the EU budget division (pressure from austerity states, the influence of the coronavirus, the British withdrawal from the EU), the highest payments are the president’s victory.
However, both the Minister and K. Starkevičius admit that Lithuania could have greater benefits if not a reckless decision in 2018.
“We finally got going ourselves, because we redistributed 50 million from the same pillar (direct payments – BNS). It was also very difficult for the President to negotiate and show that we really need that (higher direct payments and the approach with the center of the EU – the BNS) when 50 million of direct payments themselves. We moved to rural development. I think the president has achieved victory here. “… This has been criticized on several occasions in previous negotiations,” said the minister to BNS.
K. Starkevičius adds that Lithuania does not use direct payment funds inefficiently: “A lot of money is spent on those who do not make any production in agriculture, as they are paid social benefits.”
K. Starkevičius regrets that even those who, for example, only have meadows and cut them receive direct payments. Such farmers last year had 232,000. has and received 40 million. euros
The MP also says farms are dividing to increase direct payments.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Lithuania provides almost 1 billion LTL to finance direct payments for 2021-2027. 3.1 billion euros more in current prices (than current prices). up to € 4.1 billion. EUR, that is to say, 30 percent. more than in the 2014-2020 financial year.
In 2027, direct payments to Lithuanian farmers should reach 215 euros.
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