The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) invites farmers, entrepreneurs and anyone interested from the Zemgale region to the forum and discussion “Our Own Product – Our Own Strength: Strong Agriculture for a Secure Latvia”, which will take place on Friday, 18 September, at the Natural Sciences Education Centre, 2 Dzirnavu Street, Dobele, at 11.00 a.m. Registration opens at 10.30 a.m.
In spring, the MoA organised a series of regional conferences, “On the Way to a Healthy Farm”, where farmers were introduced to the Agricultural Growth Plan 2026–2036 and discussed its main objectives and implementation at sectoral and farm level. During the summer, the sectors actively worked on developing their respective strategies.
The autumn forum and discussion events continue the dialogue that has already been started, but provide an opportunity for more open and informal discussions. The aim is to listen to each other, discuss the farmer’s roadmap and what to expect in the context of the Agricultural Growth Plan, the conclusions of the sectoral strategies developed during the summer, and the steps needed to successfully implement the Agricultural Growth Plan, taking into account the specific characteristics of each region.
PROGRAMME
11.00 – Opening of the event / Agnese Radžele-Šulce, Director of Strategic Development at the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre (LLKC)
11.10 – The farmer’s roadmap – what to expect in the context of the Agricultural Growth Plan and what the sectoral strategies tell us / Liene Jansone, Deputy State Secretary for Sectoral Policy and Market Development at the MoA
11.30 – Financial instruments for farm development and transformation / Jēkabs Krieviņš, Member of the Management Board of Development Finance Institution ALTUM
11.50 – Sector growth and current developments in the context of the new planning period / Uldis Augulis, Minister for Agriculture
12.10 – Power supply crises: what to know and how to prepare / Igors Gobvalovs, Head of Corporate and Large Customer Relations at Sadales tīkls
12.20 – Challenges and proposals for the successful implementation of the Agricultural Growth Plan in the context of sectoral strategies and regional specifics / Open discussion with Liene Jansone, Deputy State Secretary for Sectoral Policy and Market Development at the MoA; Dzinta Lejniece, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Farmers’ Parliament; Raitis Mackevičs, farmer at “Ceriņi”, advocate of no-till and regenerative agriculture; Juris Lazdiņš, Chair of the Board of the Farmers’ Parliament and farmer at “Lazdiņi”. The discussion will be moderated by Agnese Radžele-Šulce, Director of Strategic Development at LLKC.
13.15 – Summary / Agnese Radžele-Šulce, Director of Strategic Development at LLKC
13.25 – What does what we have heard tell us? / Uldis Augulis, Minister for Agriculture
From 13.35 – Informal networking and further discussion over coffee
