Farmers are already considering a class action, consulting lawyers
Actions or inactions by Agriculture Minister Andrius Palionis could be very costly for the country. Lithuanian farmers are prepared to take the state to court in a class action if they are not paid for projects they have implemented. The list of 163 farmers whose projects are more than €20 million short of funding is being drawn up.
In a new twist to the scandalous story, the National Paying Agency (NPA) has started sending farmers consent forms, which they have to fill in to agree that they will only be paid for projects under the measure "Support for investments in agricultural holdings" of the Lithuanian Rural Development Programme 2014-2022 from the funds of the Strategic Plan of Lithuanian Agriculture and Rural Development 2023-2027.
Until yesterday, the NMA has been attacking farmers with phone calls, but now it has started to send consent documents that it asks them to fill in.
„I, the undersigned, hereby agree that the project (name the project number) submitted by me to the National Paying Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture (hereafter referred to as the "NPA") on date to be specified under the Measure to receive support from the funds of the Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development of Lithuania for 2023 to 2027".
This document was forwarded to „Agrobitei“ by one of the farmers, who added that he did not intend to sign the agreement because it did not contain any specific commitments by the NMA as to exactly when the funds would be transferred, nor the consequences that could result from it – late payment, penalties, interest.
He is angry that the NMA does not take any risks with this agreement. On the contrary, even if the payment is transferred to next year's programme fund, then the penalties for non-achievement increase from 0.5% to 4%.
Because the NMA has not paid the money so far, the machinery supplier may already be charging the farmer around €3,000 in late payment penalties. The farmer does not know what will happen if he accepts the NMA's offer, as the supplier is not bound by these agreements. The NMA acts in accordance with rules approved by the Minister of Agriculture.
„Agrobite“ has also been informed of other farmers who are already receiving letters from contractors. One of these letters informs them that the deadline for payment of the VAT invoice for the machinery purchased has passed and that the company reserves the right to charge interest from a certain date.
The financial burden for some would increase from a few thousand to €12,000 or more.
In a closed „Facebook“ group, farmers are already consulting lawyers about a possible class action against the state if the money does not reach farmers' accounts on time.
The position of farmers' organisations has also been criticised, as the latter do not help farmers in the face of the problems and only use them when it comes to protests.
„Agrobitė“ reminds that recently the MAF financed 80 000 euros to the Lithuanian Agricultural Council for 9 information events in the regions, where representatives of the MAF, the NMA and other organisations interact with farmers. The funding was intended to strengthen self-governance.
„Agrobitė“ asked the Minister of Agriculture Andrius Palionis where he stands on the issue (how he views the possibility of a class action), what the Minister intends to do to prevent a small problem from turning into a bigger one, and whether the Ministry or the NMA can take the financial consequences and cover (perhaps compensate) the farmers' potential damages due to late payment or penalty fees.
We will update the article once we have received the MAFF's response.
