On 16 September, the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, met with Minister for Agriculture, Kaspars Gerhards, at the Riga Castle to discuss the developments in agricultural and forest sectors.
During the meeting, President Levits inquired about the social and political factors influencing agriculture. President and minister discussed the key accomplishments and challenges concerning state support to small farmers and producers, agricultural exports and the share of organic farming in the industry output, state support to agricultural insurance and the main trends in the sector.
Another focus of the meeting was the agricultural policy of the European Commission (EC). President praised the Polish candidate for the position of European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, from whom he hopes to see a more balanced policy towards the EU member states.
President Levits and Minister Gerhards also discussed the developments in Latvia's forest industry. They highlighted forest management and development of forestry. Minister for agriculture confirmed that Latvia has an advanced forestry science not only at a national level, but also internationally. However, to ensure continuous progress in forest and agricultural education and science, these sectors have to become more prestigious for youth.
