CAP development for new period is in progress

SWOT and its results on water management

Currently Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture is developing a CAP 2021-2027 strategic plan. After carrying out SWOT analysis for Lithuanian agriculture and rural development the needs for intervention with policy were identified.

Mains observations during the SWOT analysis were as follows:

1. The number of farms is quickly decreasing and the farmers are aging. This is mainly due to the fact that other economic activities are more attractive because the income in agricultural sector is much lower compared to other economic sectors. Moreover, agricultural activities face a lot of uncertainty with climatic conditions, price fluctuations of produce and market instabilities. Also, the farms in Lithuania are very vulnerable for various instabilities because risk management activities are insufficient. This makes farms susceptible to significant losses in case of extreme weather conditions or market fluctuations. This disproportionally threatens extensive and smaller farms which usually have more benefit to the landscape maintenance and biodiversity. Therefore, increasing added value created on farms as well as risk management and adaptation is essential in order to address future challenges posed by climate change and other instabilities.
2. Low climate change mitigation and higher impacts on water quality. The impact on greenhouse gasses and water has increased due to shifts in land use, i.e. decrease in animal husbandry and increase in crop production. This shift, as well as intensifying farming had a toll on water quality due to increased artificial fertilizer use and soil erosion. Therefore, as one of the key needs identified was to improve climate change risk management on farms, also, encourage responsible use of fertilisers and farming practices, preventing soil erosion.

Due to COVID-19 the discussions with stakeholders could not be carried out. Instead, the Ministry of Agriculture reached out to experts via survey and asked them to rank the needs in terms of priorities for intervention. After analysing survey results the ministry will continue with measure development and modelling, calculation of the payment amount and other planning activities.

Elvyra Mikšytė, Baltic Environmental Forum Lithuania