LŪS: farmers have been talking about "proxy" training for a long time
After 15min published an investigation into the possible sham training of farmers, the story moved into the political and law enforcement arena. Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė decided to dismiss Vigilijus Juknas from his position as Public Adviser, and the Rector of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) set up a commission to assess his performance. At the same time, law enforcement authorities are already conducting a pre-trial investigation into the possible non-transparent use of European Union funds in the organisation of training courses for farmers.
Almost €400k under investigation
The European Public Prosecutor's Office and the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FICIS) announced that the pre-trial investigation was opened in mid-March this year. The investigation is assessing whether the Public Institution "Scientific Services" and the Academy of Agriculture of Vytautas Magnus University may have used EU funds in a non-transparent way when organising training for farmers.
On 12 May, FNTT officers carried out searches and other procedural actions in Kaunas, Kaunas district and Marijampolė district.
Credit fraud, where very significant property damage has been caused, can be punished by up to 8 years' imprisonment, and document forgery by up to 5 years' imprisonment.
The authorities stress that the presumption of innocence means that persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The Special Investigation Service (STT) also reacted to the information in the public domain. The Service has forwarded the material collected to the Prosecutor General's Office for evaluation.
NMA: no reimbursement for training missed
In response to the resonance, the NMA stressed that support under the measure "Training and skills acquisition" is only paid after the beneficiary submits an application for payment and the agency verifies the documents submitted and the number of participants. The Agency underlines that the amount to be paid is based on the number of persons who have actually participated in the training, subject to additional verifications where necessary.
„Costs incurred by the beneficiary for training that has not taken place are not reimbursed“, – the NMA states.
Important detail – The NMA acknowledged that it has included this measure in the list of the most risky measures of the Rural Development and Strategic Plan after receiving information on possible illegal use of aid. The Agency has also made proposals to the Ministry of Agriculture to tighten controls for both distance and face-to-face training.
K. Mažeika: „This could be a systemic problem“
Kęstutis Mažeika, a member of the Seimas Committee on Rural Affairs, says he thinks this case may be indicative of wider problems rather than an isolated story.
„In my opinion, this is a potentially systemic problem. The almost €20 million or even more, depending on the EU period, spent on training and advice is a huge amount. It is clear that there is an opportunity to profit from such schemes," the MP told Agrobite.lt. He said it was surprising that measures to strengthen controls were only now being taken.
„There are 4–6 training sessions per day all over Lithuania. There must be a clear control mechanism. Not only people's signatures, but also their traceability and repeatability are assessed. Some organisations and institutions may have groups of people who constantly sign and use the certificates to fuel their stoves," said K. Mažeika. Some of these funds could be diverted to other causes that are important to farmers, the politician said.
„Sometimes farmers do not receive support when they desperately need it for investment. This raises the question of whether the money is always used where it creates the most value," he said.
FARMS: 'proxy' training has been talked about for a long time
„There are all kinds of trainings – some of them are of high quality and useful, but it has certainly been heard that some of them are held for very small audiences, and sometimes they are not held at all, or they are held remotely. The latter are really difficult to verify," he said. According to Mr Špakauskas, training has become a formal requirement for some farmers.
„Sometimes people go for training because the EU requires them to complete a certain number of hours. However, there are questions about the competence of the lecturers and the need for the training itself," said the LŪS vice-chairman. He said that some farmers prefer private seminars, field days or events organised by machinery suppliers because they provide more practical benefits than formal programmes.
„There are these proxy trainings, we have heard about them many times. We used to talk about it loudly, but nobody listened, because the most important thing was to collect the certificates," said Mr Špakauskas.According to him, the current high-profile case may be an incentive for a broader review of the whole system of farmer training – not only the control mechanisms, but also the need for the training itself.
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