Offering a wider choice of protection products for small cabbage growers

In an effort to help small-scale growers of a wide range of brassicas better protect themselves against pests, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAA) is expanding the list of small-scale crops to include nearly 20 plants.  

Regina Voverytė-Šimkienė, head of the department of plant breeding and green technologies at the Ministry of Agriculture, explained to BNS that the number of protection products used in small areas is higher because their registration and testing requirements are simpler.

„The aim is to make it easier for farmers to grow cabbage, as they will have access to a wider range of plant protection products and will be able to buy them in a wider range of options, as registration of protective products is simpler and quicker for small areas," the ministry's spokeswoman told BNS.

According to Zita Varanavičienė, head of the association „CropLife Lietuva“, which unites companies producing and importing plant protection products, the change in the procedure will make it clearer for producers which data to submit to the authorities, and for the latter to ask for data on the impact of the measures.

„We can expect that the registration processes for these herbal medicines will speed up and the grower will have a wider range of options to choose from – more to choose from. (…) And a safe product will reach the consumer: neither worm-ridden nor diseased," Z. Varanavičienė told BNS.

The ministry says the current list is too narrow and the variety of brassicas grown is constantly changing and expanding, so the list no longer reflects the agrarian situation.

Data from the Agricultural Data Centre show that the cultivation of Brussels sprouts is increasing in Lithuania. For example, this year 0.72 ha have been planted, compared to 0.67 ha last year and 0.45 ha the year before, while the planting of Chinese cabbage is 25.5 ha, 25.14 ha and 21.03 ha, respectively.

The production of kale and cauliflower is lower this year than last year, with the former accounting for 7.58 ha this year, compared to 14.47 ha last year and 3.32 ha the year before, and the latter 8.72 ha, 12.65 ha and 10.79 ha respectively

In the last three years, up to 10,000 ha have been cultivated in Lithuania for various types of cabbage.