The Ministry of Agriculture and Social Partners discussed important issues related to the Strategic Plan (SP) for Agriculture and Rural Development of Lithuania for 2023-2027 and the Rural Development Programme of Lithuania for 2014-202020 (RDP). The main focus was on simplification of the support system and its efficient distribution.

Talking about the changes ahead, Agriculture Minister Kazys Starkevičius said it was necessary to take stock of the mistakes made and to decide whether the sectoral support mechanism had been as effective as expected.

„If we want to cure all these „diseases“, there must be a simplified support system without sectors. I want to emphasise the priorities: those who have not received support and small and medium-sized farms. The large projects remain as they were," the minister stressed, inviting representatives of the social partners to a discussion.

Farmers' representatives present at the meeting said that farms that do not receive support cannot compete with those that do, and therefore support the strategic objectives set by the Minister to simplify and prioritise access to support.

It was also suggested that promising farms should be taken into account in order to ensure that the support is not only meaningful but also targeted, and there was a discussion on mixed farms and their access to support.

The meeting discussed the forthcoming amendments to the SP and RDP measures "Support for investments in agricultural holdings", to the SP rules for intervention measures (eco-schemes) and to the requirements for good agri-environmental condition (GAEC4), as well as how to revise the methodology for the integrated organic scheme "Arable Crops" in order to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness.

Farmer representative organisations and unions have made proposals for these changes, which are being developed to simplify access to support.