Changes await farmers: there is already a new payment plan

We spoke with the Minister of Agriculture, Andrius Palionis, about who will win in the new financial period and why that path was chosen. These are proposals that will be discussed for another six months.

– What will the new financial period be like, how will the money be redistributed?

– The payments for the first hectares are changing drastically. There will be other rules on how these funds are distributed. If the EU has so far regulated the regime quite strictly, now the Member States have more freedom. For example, this period could support up to 30 ha. In the new period, neither the number of hectares nor any part of the endowment may be used for this purpose. There is only one condition that the amount does not exceed the average profit.

We asked the Lithuanian Institute of Agricultural Economics to evaluate farms according to their activities, size and determine profitability to find out who needs help. Surprisingly, farms of up to 10 hectares are profitable, although here the statistics can be distorted by greenhouses, where a lot has been invested per hectare and the income is high. Profitability falls above 10 ha, farms operate at a loss, profits are low on farms of 100 to 150 ha and very profitable from 150 ha. The same is reflected in the production curve: up to 10 ha is large, then it decreases and begins to increase significantly again from 150 ha. Our goal was to redistribute payments to fill a niche of up to 100 ha so that these farms could work profitably, as up to 90 ha have 90 percent. farms.

– How will you support unprofitable family farms?

– We offer to pay up to 50 ha for the first hectares. On average, they are 76 euros extra. The highest payments, recalculated, will be felt up to 106 ha. Up to 10 has additional payment of 65 euros. 99 euros will be for the most deficient farms: from 30 to 40 hectares. This redistribution means that we give 36 million to the smallest. extra euros. If we introduced modulation, we could only take and redistribute 3.9 million grand. euros.

– Will direct payments for young people reach the EU average?

– No. Approximately, farms of between 30 and 50 hectares, if we do not include additional measures, associated aid, will receive 198 EUR in payments, and the EU average will be 275 in a few years, but young farmers will receive even more .

– What about organic farms?

– Now is a period of transition. People certify fields but do not receive additional payments. We are thinking about how to save those who have kept their farms and open the market to new ones. In the new period, we are going to change the principles so that there are no commitments for five years. It would be simple: when the transition period of the fields ends, you will receive a payment at the time of the declaration. However, if you do not file voluntarily, you will only be able to return after a few years. We don’t want it to be abusive and it would be possible to keep the field ‘non-organic’ for years with weeds, spray it with chemicals and go back to an organic farm in a year and receive higher payments. You will have to wait for a transition period to do so.

– What support awaits young farmers?

– The number of young farmers is decreasing. That does not mean they are going out. Now there are about 20,000 of them, although ten years ago there were 40,000 young people. The age of farmers is simply changing and they are moving out of this category. We have carried out an analysis and we see that in ten years only two percent of the young farmers who have received start-up aid have left. Now the area of ​​newcomers is decreasing. If in 2015 they declared 20 ha, now 6 ha. On average, it handles 32 hectares.

The young farmer now receives 54 euros per hectare as an additional payment, which is paid over five years for an area of ​​up to 90 ha.

There are now two options on what payments should be made to young farmers. I, as a minister, support the option of paying 173 euros per hectare. This is a recommendation from the Lithuanian Institute of Agricultural Economics. Another offer is 139 euros for the first 50 hectares. It will be paid for seven years instead of five. The good thing is that in the new period, 2%. the whole envelope. This was limited to 2 percent.

For comparison, if a farmer has an area of ​​30 hectares, the total payments will receive 371 euros per hectare. We are developing control mechanisms so that parents do not divide the farm and it is not the case that children work abroad or in large cities, and only receive benefits. To get this money, you will need to live and work on farms.

– Are there already decisions on coupled support?

– Your debate has been the hottest. The combined support is intended to allow Member States to support contracting industries. We will increase support for dairy cow farmers who grow vegetables in the open field. Also, the fruits and berries are now together, but the berries spread very quickly and took away part of the funds from the gardens. We have separated these areas of activity.

The payment for dairy cows was 119 and the proposed 180 euros. But that’s the average. We provide a breakdown by farm size.

For open field vegetables, instead of 180, we offer 500 euros per hectare. Neighbors pay similarly. In the case of fruit, it will go from € 237 per hectare to € 386.

Nekis support for beef cattle, sheep meat and sugar beet producers. We are ending support for certified seed producers. They were 14 euros per hectare.

– The number of cows is constantly decreasing. How will the benefits be distributed?

– For up to 10 cows the payment would be 156.3, for up to 50 horns 208 euros per cow, 100 to 150 and 260 euros per cow. From 151 each cow 130 euros. We have focused on medium and family farms, which will need to have between 100 and 150 cows in a decade to remain competitive. Today, 25 cows are enough, which, if raised wisely, can support a family without raw milk.

– Will there be new cultures?

– At the suggestion of the Lithuanian Agrarian Institute, we include walnut trees. There will be 150 euros per hectare. Until now, there has been no linked support for them. Until now, this culture hasn’t even had a code to declare.

– As will be the case with berries, now the areas are growing en masse …

– We classify strawberries as vegetables. The aid will be 500 euros per hectare. If they are cultivated by a young farmer, the sum of all the payments can reach almost 1000 euros per hectare.

– Has this plan achieved all its objectives?

– It is too early to speak, because so far we have only placed the first pillar. Discussions about the Rural Development Program have not even started. We hope that not all of the money will go solely to grants. We need to create a financial portfolio for the future, as total EU funding for agriculture is falling by 8.4%. Only we, Lithuania, received 18.8 percent. plus. Additionally, hundreds of billions have been borrowed for economic recovery and this money will need to be repaid. Envelope may be smaller for the next period and stocks may be required.

– Thanks for the conversation.