Missing money: the Ministry of Agriculture's managers were aware of the deficit as late as the end of July
After the news spread that the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014/2020 will end with a shortage of payments to some farmers under the measure "Investments in agricultural holdings", Agrobite.lt contacted the Ministry of Agriculture (MAA) for more detailed information. And while the questions were initially answered in a general press release, the Public Relations and Cooperation Unit later provided some more detailed answers. It is clear from these that the Ministry of Land and Rural Development has long been aware of the lack of funds for Rural Development Programme projects.
From the „facilitation“...
„As early as 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture recorded in meetings with social partners the first signals that some applicants for agricultural investment projects were facing problems with building permits and other administrative obstacles“,“ the decision to extend the deadlines for final payments begins to explain the ministry, adding that this is the reason why the delayed farms were given the opportunity to submit their final payment requests later.
„ In addition, representatives of farmers (Lithuanian Agricultural Council, Chamber of Agriculture, Lithuanian Association of Organic Farms) wrote to the MAF, drawing attention to some provisions of the legal acts affecting the implementation of the projects, asking to simplify them and to facilitate the implementation of the projects and the submission of the payment requests“, – another reason for postponing the deadlines was identified by the MAF.
Failure to complete projects on time would primarily threaten farmers themselves – penalties and financial losses. „However, at the same time, the interests of the entire Lithuanian agricultural sector are also at stake, as RDP funds earmarked for such projects but not disbursed by 31 December 2025 would have to be repaid to the European Commission“, – pointed out the MAF, adding: „Repayment of funds is not an efficient way of managing EU funds, especially given that the next programming period will not be as generous anymore.... to financial deficit
And while the Ministry stresses that the delays were requested by farmers, it neglects to make it clear that an additional call for this measure has been launched for 2025, perhaps due to fears that the postponed deadlines will eventually prevent the full absorption of the funds allocated by the European Commission. The consequence? According to the NMA's data at the beginning of October 2025, the RDP funds are forecast to be fully used up. Preliminary figures show that the RDP programme will have a shortfall of around €20.5 million, so that final payments for around 163 projects will have to be made from the Strategic Plan," the MAA stated.
What does this mean? The target has been achieved – the RDP funds have been used up and there will be no repayment to the EC, but there is a deficit of €20.5 million. However, please note that once the assessment of the payment claims received is completed (due to ineligible expenditure or other discrepancies), these figures may decrease," the MAFF says, as if to reassure itself.
Accountability between the linesThe actual situation has long been known to the MAF. In response to questions, the Public Relations Department pointed out that as early as the beginning of September, according to data as of 31 July, information on the shortfall of €23 million in RDP funds was presented at a meeting of the Monitoring Committee for the implementation of the Lithuanian Rural Development Programme 2014/2020 at the beginning of September.
It was already clear in the second half of the summer that the final implementation of the 2014-2020 programme would be delayed due to the lack of funds. This is likely to have been unknown neither to the former Minister of Agriculture, Ignas Hofmannas, nor to the current Minister of Agriculture, Andrius Palionis, who was Deputy Minister of Agriculture at the time.
The same commission apparently tried to patch up the shortfall with the remaining unused balances from various measures. Nevertheless, the ministry is pleased that its attempts to get a grip on its finances were welcomed at the meeting...
