How to provide support without actually providing it: a flawed procedure raises questions

From 1 to 28 September, farmers will once again be able to submit applications under the measure “Sustainable investments in agricultural holdings” of the 2023–2027” under the measure “Sustainable investments in agricultural holdings”. A total of €18.26 million has been earmarked for this call for applications, of which up to €10.4 million – more than half of the total budget – is allocated to projects in the Capital Region.

The Ministry of Agriculture (ŽŪM) explains that these are not additional funds allocated to the Capital Region. On the contrary – this is almost all the funding earmarked for this region that remained unspent from previous calls for proposals. However, data provided by the ministry shows that, over more than half of the programming period, just 846,000 euros in support has been approved for the Capital Region – around 7.5 per cent of the funds earmarked for this region.

More than €10 million – not new funding

“Agrobite.lt” contacted the Ministry of Agriculture, asking for an explanation of the basis on which the decision was made to allocate up to €10.4 million to the Capital Region in this year’s call for proposals. The Ministry emphasises that this level of funding does not represent a newly calculated requirement.

“The funds and their allocation to the regions are set out in the 2023–2027 Strategic Plan, i.e. over the entire programming period, 20 per cent of the funds allocated to this measure must be used in the Capital Region and 80 per cent in the Central and Western Lithuania Region“, – the Ministry states, adding that this year’s sum of 10.4 million euros was calculated as follows: “The funds allocated to the Capital Region for 2026 comprise the remaining balance of funds earmarked for this region that have not yet been utilised.”

Data provided by the Ministry shows that, for the entire 2023–2027 period, €11.2 million is earmarked for the Capital Region under this measure. However, only €846,000 in funding was approved for 2023–2025. This means that, to date, only around 7.5 per cent of the total funding earmarked for the Capital Region has been utilised, whilst the unspent balance stands at €10.4 million. It is precisely this amount that is being carried over to this year’s call for proposals.

Applications were submitted, but not all received funding

Data provided by the Ministry also allows us to assess the results of last year’s call for proposals. In 2025, seven applications were submitted in the Capital Region, requesting around €3.8 million in support. However, funding was allocated to only two projects, totalling €846,000.

The Ministry of Agriculture has not commented further on why only two of the seven applications were approved, nor on the reasons behind this outcome. Furthermore, this funding has not yet been disbursed, as the projects are currently being implemented.

Given the results of previous years, the question naturally arises as to whether this call for proposals will succeed in utilising almost all of the funding that remained unused over the previous three years.

“Decisions on the further use of unspent funds will be taken once the 2026 application round has closed, following an assessment of the actual remaining funds in the regions,” – replied the Ministry of Agriculture, without revealing whether the funds would be reallocated to another region or returned to the programme’s overall budget.

It will therefore only become clear once this year’s call for applications has closed whether the funding allocated to the region matched the actual investment needs.

Preferential loans failed to attract interest – only one application was received

Another change is on the horizon in the area of preferential loans. Last year’s call for proposals allocated separate funding for this measure, but interest was extremely low.

“In 2025, one application for a preferential loan was received under this measure. As the measure did not attract the anticipated level of interest, an amendment was made to the Strategic Plan in 2026 and the funds earmarked for loans were reallocated to grants under this measure. Therefore, it is no longer possible to apply for a preferential loan under this measure“, the Ministry explained its decision.

The Ministry of Agriculture notes that the aim of the “Sustainable Investments in Agricultural Holdings” measure is to promote investments that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The strategic plan’s monitoring assesses result indicator R.16 “Climate-related investments”, and around 205 farms are expected to receive grants over the entire programming period.

However, the ministry has not provided a specific assessment of the extent to which these investments will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nor of the indicative cost per tonne of emissions reduced, and, most importantly, if the Capital Region once again fails to utilise the allocated funding, whether the remaining funds will be reallocated or whether other solutions will be sought to utilise them.

Or would it, after all, be more sensible to allocate these funds to areas where livestock farms are concentrated? In that case, there would be no need to carry funds over from one year to the next.