Annex IX. Summary of Lithuanian National agri-environmental programme

Draft of Lithuanian National Agri-environmental Programme (NAEP) is prepared according to the EU Council Regulation 1257/1999. This Programme provides for activities, which will be taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and other institutions to ensure environmental protection against harmful activities in rural areas. The Programme is based on current agri-environmental situation, analysis of problems and perspectives, governmental programmes and EU experience. 

Agriculture in Lithuania causes some environmental problems such as water and soil pollution by nitrates, soil erosion, loss of grasslands (either due to abandonment and overgrowing with bushes, or ploughing) and biodiversity.

Agriculture and other rural activities provide employment and income for roughly one third of the Lithuanian population. This is not directly connected with environment, but such initiative as implementation of farming practices maintaining landscape and the countryside could promote certain employment in rural areas, also create conditions for rural tourism, and maintain traditional architecture, countryside, and landscape, which is already environmental issue.

The main objective of the draft Agri-environmental programme is to prepare measures that ensure normal economic and social conditions for rural population, decrease negative impact of agriculture on the environment, restore traditional landscape and increase biodiversity.

The draft of NAEP consists of description of relationship of Lithuanian agriculture and environment, current problems and possible ways of solution. The second part of the draft of NAEP describes agri-environmental schemes. Agri-environmental programme consists of four elements:

·        Agri-environmental schemes (AES)

·        Consultation and training

·        Demonstration projects

AES will be applied in the whole territory of Lithuania according to the agri-environmental protection needs. Participants of the scheme who will fulfil the Programme’s provisions, get premium payment which cover income loss due to implementation of the provisions.

Advisory service, districts agricultural units, together with scientific and training institutions will organise courses where they explain agri-environmental schemes, agreement process, implementation of measures, sustainable agriculture methods, etc. Training and consultation for farmers participating in the programme will be free and financed from the Programme’s funds.

Demonstration projects will be implemented through demonstration days on farms that are already implementing agri-environmental schemes. Some demonstration projects are already being implemented in Lithuania.

AES comprises the following measures that participant of the programme will be able to implement in his farm:

1.      Fertilising and proper manure handling;

2.      Sustainable application of plant protection measures;

3.      Protective belts and other technical measures;

4.      Landscape protection and increase of biodiversity;

5.      Preservation of historic and archaeological objects;

6.      Organic agriculture;

7.      Local breeds in danger of extinction;

8.      Water protection, care for agricultural run-off. For implementation of this measure, sedimentation ponds have to be built in cultivated land.

9.      Environmentally friendly farming. The aim of this measure is to decrease possibility of leakage of nitrates and pesticides into layers of ground drinking water. The measure is applied in territories sensitive to ground water pollution.

10.  Landscape management and enhancement of biodiversity.

It is expected that in 5-10 years after implementation of NAES run-off of nitrate from agricultural territories will decrease by 30-50%, that of phosphates- by 10-20%. Establishment of individual farms will increase mosaic structure of Lithuanian landscape; smaller size of fields with crop rotation will decrease wind erosion. Measures related to the landscape and biodiversity protection will maintain traditional rural landscape and enhance biodiversity in agricultural lands. Protection belts, artificial wetlands, sedimentation ponds, replacement of some drainage collectors by ditches, re-naturalisation of the ditches and other anti-erosion measures will decrease run-off of P and N to the rivers.

For evaluation of effectiveness of the agri-environmental measures and improvement of the programme, control of implemented measures and monitoring of their effect on water quality, landscape and biological diversity will be carried out.