This year was generally successful for agriculture, said the chairman of Latvian Agricultural Organization Cooperation Council (LOSP) Guntis Gūtmanis in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma on Monday, 22 August.
«Generally the year looks to be successful for farmers,» he said.
At the same time, he also said this year’s harvest may turn out lower than previously expected.
LOSP chairman explained that both the current weather and grain threshing looks positive even though the harvest is expected lower than planned, because spring came late and was cold.
In July there was the opinion that potato harvest could turn out exceptionally good, but the drought observed in recent weeks lowered expectations to moderately good.
He also noted that the ongoing agricultural policy should be focused on making sure none of the agricultural sectors fall out of the loop. «We can produce enough food for ourselves, but development should focus on keeping everyone in the loop,» Gūtmanis said, adding that the policy should be enough to provide an assortment of different food products, not just one kind.
LOSP is an organisation that unites national producers and processing companies that span across Latvia’s territory and all production sectors. The organisation formulates a unified opinion of producers to better defend their interests and maintain talks with state administration and other partners.