Seimas recognises agriculture as a sector of strategic importance for the country
On Thursday, the Seimas recognised agriculture and food policy as a strategically important part of Lithuania's domestic policy. Parliament adopted the following amendments to the National Security Framework Law by 111 votes in favour and two abstentions: agriculture and food security will be considered as strategically important as energy, transport, information technology and telecommunications, finance and military equipment.
The government, which tabled the proposal, said it would help ensure food security for the country's population, especially in times of emergencies and crises, in the event of a mobilisation, or in the event of a state of emergency or martial law.
Jurgis Razma and Kęstutis Mažeika, MPs of the opposition conservatives and democrats' group "In the name of Lithuania", regretted that the draft budget for the next year provides for less funding for agriculture, which has been recognised as a strategic sector.
„We declare a sector to be of strategic importance and, as if to justify that importance, we deal with it through funding cuts. Do we think that the sector is so tough that it can get by with less funding?", Razma told the meeting.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, then chairman of the ruling „Nemunas aušros“ party, linked next year's funding for agriculture to the increase in defence spending: „That's the bulk of the money that goes to defence. That's why we consider food to be of strategic importance. The amendments provide for the need to create the conditions for the competitive development of agriculture and food, to ensure the supply of safe, good-quality and wide-ranging products to the market. In September, when tabling the amendments in Parliament, former Agriculture Minister Ignas Hofmann said that crisis periods such as the Covid-19 pandemic had shown that food chains were fragile, and that the amendments were therefore important for strengthening food self-sufficiency. He added that the decision would give farmers and the food industry priority access to gas, electricity.
