Latvia's Agriculture Ministry: farming sectors must find new paths for growth
A Ministry of Agriculture official says Latvia's farming sectors need new development approaches amid shifting markets and climate conditions, treating EU support as a tool rather than an end goal. Cooperation, export strategy and science will play a growing role.
Liene Jansone, deputy state secretary for sectoral policy and market issues at Latvia's Ministry of Agriculture, says the country's farming, food production, forestry and fisheries sectors are operating amid shifting markets, sharper competition and changing climate conditions. This is pushing sectors to seek more efficient ways of working and greater added value.
According to Jansone, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan provides support mechanisms for reaching sector goals, but funding should be seen as a tool rather than a resource to be used without a clear plan. Different farming sectors face different circumstances, so no single solution fits all — yet producers, processors and traders must be viewed as one interconnected chain.
Grain farming and other sectors
Grain farming, long one of Latvia's most stable agricultural sectors, has faced difficulties in recent years due to disruptions from Russia's war, global market shifts and climate conditions, making it urgent to find ways to stay competitive. Jansone cites poultry farming, which has built a strategy oriented toward the Baltic market, and sheep farming, which invests in breeding and research, as positive examples. The dairy sector needs to find new export markets and develop higher-value products — the company Rāmkalni is cited as an example of successfully entering foreign markets.
Cooperation and local production
Jansone stresses the importance of cooperation: smaller farms benefit from joining forces to reach the volume and quality required by markets, as already seen in fruit growing and poultry farming. Dialogue across the entire chain — producers, cooperatives, processors and traders — is also essential. Ministry data shows that more than 50 million euros leaves Latvia annually through school catering alone due to reliance on imported products that could be produced domestically. The ministry is promoting the slogan "Our product — our strength" to encourage choosing local goods.
Jansone adds that science and data are becoming increasingly important — soil analysis and more precise fertilization can raise productivity and product quality, which in turn affects price. The ministry's Agricultural Growth Plan for 2026–2036 aims to more than double agricultural output per hectare by 2036, moving closer to Finland's current level.
