Dobele forum discusses future of Zemgale's agriculture and crisis readiness

On September 18, the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture and the Rural Advisory and Training Centre (LLKC) held a forum in Dobele dedicated to the future of agriculture in the Zemgale region. The event was part of a broader series of regional discussions aimed at adapting national agricultural development goals to the needs of specific areas.

For Zemgale, discussions focused on farm competitiveness, productivity, return on investment, soil fertility, market opportunities and risk management. The forum was opened by LLKC's Director of Strategic Development, Agnese Radžele-Šulce, who later moderated the main panel discussion.

Growth plan and financing

Liene Jansone, deputy state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, presented the Agriculture Growth Plan and the sector strategies developed over the summer. Jēkabs Krieviņš, a board member of the state development institution Altum, outlined financial tools available for farm development and transformation. Agriculture Minister Uldis Augulis also attended, speaking about sector growth within the context of the new planning period and summarizing the issues raised during the discussions at the close of the event.

Preparing for emergencies

Part of the forum addressed how farms can prepare for emergency situations. Igors Gobvalovs, a representative of power grid operator Sadales tīkls, spoke about how to respond to electricity supply disruptions and prepare for them in advance. The importance of risk management in agriculture has been underscored by adverse weather conditions many farms faced this summer.

The broader discussion on Zemgale-specific challenges also included Dzinta Lejniece of the Council for Cooperation of Agricultural Organizations, Raitis Mackevičs, a proponent of regenerative farming from the "Ceriņi" farm, and Juris Lazdiņš, head of the Farmers' Parliament and owner of the "Lazdiņi" farm.