Farmers left alone will travel to Vilnius on Monday

Farmers who have been left without the support of their organisations and whose projects have been shorted more than €20 million by the state will seek justice on Monday in Vilnius. The National Paying Agency (NPA) is organising a meeting with farmers on the day after farmers on the list of 163 farmers (already known by some as the Pallionis list) spoke of a possible lawsuit against the state for failure to meet its commitments. Farmers are appealing to the entire farming community to support them.

The invitation to the meeting came after working hours

„Farmers gather again in Vilnius! Time and place. 17 Blindžių St.17. Farmers affected by the actions of the Ministry of Agriculture will start the message without tractors for the time being.

„The government is once again calling on farmers to unite. In their own way, of course. A few weeks ago, the sector received the news that the NMA will run short of €20 million for this year's aid payments. This means that those who have submitted payment claims will not receive the planned money in the near future and will certainly face financial and reputational losses. Communication between the MAFF and the NMA on this issue is very poor and limited. Scam-like phone calls, fragmented information about choices and consequences have become a daily routine for farmers," the invitation to farmers reads.

On Friday evening, some farmers received an invitation from the NMA to an event organised by the NMA. „They promise to explain the situation and answer any questions during the event. So, farmer, if you too have had your payment delayed – attend. If you know a colleague who is aware of this information – please let us know – the farming community is being contacted by farmers.

Interestingly, the invitation to the meeting from the NMA reached the farmers on Friday at 5.30 p.m., and the NMA Communication Unit was in contact with the farmers even after 10 p.m., which is unusual for budgetary institutions.

What happened?

„Agrobitė“ reminds that the Ministry of Agriculture and the NMA knew about the lack of money for projects under the measure "Support for investments in agricultural holdings" of the Lithuanian Rural Development Programme 2014-2022 (RDP) before autumn.

The Ministry of Agriculture did not plan sufficient funds for the above-mentioned RDP projects, and the Minister of Agriculture Andrius Palionis, instead of urgently looking for funds in the state budget, took the easy way out – the money can wait until the first quarter of next year. Although other ministries managed to reach an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and were granted funds for contracted projects lacking EU money by a government decision.

NMA started attacking farmers a few days ago with calls urging them to accept that the funds for the projects would only be transferred to farmers next year – from the funds of the Strategic Plan for Lithuanian Agriculture and Rural Development 2023-2027.

But even before then, farmers were receiving letters and signals from machinery suppliers and construction contractors about possible delays and liquidated damages. Some farmers' obligations to suppliers have expired a month or more ago. The amounts of liquidated damages per farmer range from a few thousand to more than €12,000.

The problem was exacerbated when the NMA started a few days ago to send letters to farmers on the "Palionis list" with templates of agreements which, if signed by the farmers, would make them take full responsibility for the breach of their agreements with suppliers.

It is not only farmers in difficult situations with RDP projects who are going to meet the NMA on Monday. According to unofficial reports, well-known members of the farming community, who have been involved in a number of farmer protests in the 2023-2024 period, are also planning to come to the NMA headquarters.

Leaving both the government and their own

In its replies to „Agrobitei“, the MAF seemed to be trying to shift some of the blame to the farmers themselves. Moreover, the Minister of Agriculture himself, A. Palionis, seems to want to remain aloof in the public sphere, as if not to be associated with this scandal, even though it was he who was aware of the problem of the lack of funds even before the autumn.

Members of the Seimas who are members of the Committee on Rural Affairs (CRC), who have become aware of the scandalous situation, have promised to discuss the problem at a CRC meeting. However, according to the chairman of the RAC, Bronius Ropė, these plans were later abandoned because no one approached the committee.

Jonas Vilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian Agriculture Council (LAC), which claims to bring together the most influential farmer organisations, stressed that he would not refer the issue to the Seimas committee. "The Ministry did the right thing," defended Mr Vilionis.  

It is likely that the silence of the LFA is related to the 80 000 Euros, which, with the blessing of the MAF, were allocated to „strengthening self-government“ by organising information events in 9 different districts, where agricultural issues were discussed with the LFA in the presence of Mr Palionis, the heads of the NMA, the MoHVT, and other institutions.