Latvian Government Faces Scrutiny Amidst Agricultural Crisis
RIGA – Relations between the political parties forming Latvia’s government, led by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, have become strained following a review of the accuracy, legality, and expediency of information contained in the Ministry of Agriculture’s reports from 2023 and 2024. The Prime Minister reportedly considered the possibility of Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze’s resignation earlier this week, but following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, she stated that the government would await assessments from the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Audit Office regarding the findings of the review.
The findings of the commission and the government’s decisions will be the focus of the “Kas notiek Latvijā?” (What’s happening in Latvia?) program on October 11th. The program will feature Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis representing the Prime Minister’s “Jaunā Vienotība” (New Unity) party, and Andris Šuvajevs, co-chair of the “Progresīvie” (Progressives) party and head of the party’s Saeima faction. Pēteris Vilks, Deputy Director of the State Chancellery, who also participated in the review commission established last December, will also be present, though he did not participate in evaluating specific sections of the report. Kristaps Klauss, Executive Director of the Latvian Wood Industry Federation, will represent the wood processing sector. Ieva Šmite, Chairwoman of the Competition Council, who was also a member of the review commission, has been invited to participate.
Aivars Puriņš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, who led the review commission, and Raivis Kronbergs, the current Director of the State Chancellery, who served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture during the period the reports covered, were also invited to participate but declined for various reasons.
The program will be broadcast live on LTV1 and available on the LSM.lv portal at 21:20. A recording of the program will subsequently be available on LSM.lv.
Questions for the participants can be submitted via email to [email protected].
This development comes as Latvia continues to grapple with the fallout from severe weather conditions impacting its agricultural sector. In August 2025, the Latvian government declared a nationwide state of emergency in agriculture to address the consequences of frost, rain, and floods. The declaration, which was in effect until November 4, 2025, was described as a technical measure to expedite funding to affected farmers.
Prime Minister Siliņa stated at the time, “It is important to support farmers in the current situation, when the rains have severely affected a large part of the countryside, the harvest has been damaged and farmers are suffering losses. We have made a decision in the government to declare a state of emergency. We will ease the requirements and thus mitigate the consequences to help the industry recover.”
The state of emergency allowed the State Revenue Service to refrain from penalizing farmers for failing to make payments due to the adverse weather conditions. Credit institutions and other financial institutions were also empowered to defer loan payments, review interest rates, and adjust payment schedules without penalties.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, prolonged rains since May 2025 have had a “very negative impact” on the agricultural sector, significantly damaging this year’s harvest. Excess soil moisture has also hindered access to fields, delaying or preventing cultivation and harvesting. The ministry noted that excessive moisture has caused crops like grain, legumes, and potatoes to rot, and in some areas, farmers were unable to plant crops at all.
Fruit growers also reported losses due to spring frosts that damaged blooming trees, and cattle farms have been affected by the adverse conditions. The Ministry of Agriculture highlighted that this marks the third consecutive year that Latvia’s agricultural sector has been impacted by extreme weather, posing a “serious threat” to the viability of many farms.
Data from the Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center indicated that rainfall in May and June 2025 significantly exceeded monthly averages, particularly in central and eastern Latvia. May rainfall reached 84.7 millimeters – 68 percent above the norm – and June totaled 91.1 millimeters – 30 percent above the norm.
