The new Agriculture Minister Kazys Starkevičius could improve dialogue with farmers, reduce administrative burdens for farmers and establish measures to smooth market fluctuations, according to the President's senior adviser, Ramūnas Dilba, in his last term of office. He argued that there are already examples where late changes of ministers in this government have produced good results.

„Reducing bureaucracy and administrative burdens would be of particular interest to farmers in difficult times. And these problems can be solved at the ministerial level, as many administrative procedures are approved by his orders," Dilba told Žinių radios on Tuesday.
„There are works that have been carried out, but they need additional energy. One of them is the implementation of short-scale circuits, a mechanism that is very important for the vitality of the village. Then there is the Reclamation Fund Bill, which it would be useful to debate in Parliament this autumn. There are also long-term measures to mitigate market volatility. This would include the mutual fund," he commented.

Although farmers' representatives hope that Starkevičius' appointment as Minister of Agriculture will have the same positive impact as Laurynas Kasčiūnas had in the field of national defence, the presidential advisor does not believe that the two politicians should be compared.
When Minister Starkevičius hinted that a joint agreement between the parties on the direction of agriculture could be discussed in the autumn session of the Seimas, R. Dilba said that if it would improve communication with farmers – the President's Office would support the initiative. If it really promotes dialogue with the farming community, the President would support the initiative. It would give politicians and the farming community an opportunity to talk about priorities," said Mr Dilba. „Obviously, the pursuit of such an agreement should not draw attention to itself without addressing other issues“, – warned the adviser.

As the new Minister of Agriculture seeks to replace his team of deputy ministers, the presidential adviser hopes that they will be people familiar with the farming community.
„The Minister has talked about changing the team. This is probably where the conversation with the Prime Minister about team building really comes in. But perhaps it will be people who have a deep understanding of the problems of the farming community," he said.
On Monday, President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree on the composition of the renewed government. The head of state approved the nominations of two new ministers, Kazis Starkevičius and Aurimas Pečkauskas.

The composition of the renewed Government was presented to the President by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė last Friday. She is replacing two cabinet members, Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Navickas and Health Minister Arūnas Dulkis. She has nominated the chairman of the current Seimas Committee on Economic Affairs, conservative K. Starkevičius, and the deputy health minister, A. Pečkauskas. There are no changes in the other ministries – the names of the same ministers have been submitted for approval.
The Presidency has already made it clear that the most questionable is the future of Agriculture Minister K. Navickas in the Government. In recent weeks, criticism has also been levelled at Health Minister A. Dulkis. However, the President himself has not publicly named specific names.
For her part, Šimonytė said that she had no complaints about the ministers being replaced, but that she had taken the decisions with the aim of achieving a "constructive work of the Government".