The Greens believe that small and medium-sized farmers should be allowed to acquire state-owned land, not those who own tens of thousands of hectares.
For some time now, an initiative has been gaining momentum in the Seimas (the unicameral parliament of the Republic of Lithuania): it proposes allowing farmers to acquire leased state-owned land, either interspersed between or adjacent to their own plots. This would allow farmers to increase the area of cultivated land, and would also add a significant amount, estimated at about 800 million, to the state budget.
The permission to acquire state land would be valid only for small plots, no larger than 3 hectares. “It is difficult to use small, interspersed plots or plots bordering farmers’ cultivated land in any other way for the benefit of the state. They are too small to develop any significant activity there, so in reality they can only be used for agricultural activities. Farmers, who often already lease and work these plots, can best do this,” says Democrat Kęstutis Mažeika, a member of the Rural Affairs Committee. According to the parliamentarian, such a proposal is beneficial for everyone – farmers will not only acquire the land they work on, but will also contribute to the state budget. It is proposed to allocate these funds for defense purposes.
Democratic Union “For Lithuania”
“It is very important that after adopting the provision to allow the acquisition of this state land, the safeguards established in the laws are properly protected so that large concerns, which already own tens of thousands of hectares, do not buy it. These land plots must be acquired by medium or small farmers, because this is very important for their survival and strengthening,” says Tomas Tomilinas, a member of the Seimas’ Environment Committee.
According to the member of the Seimas’ Environment Committee, all safeguards have already been discussed in committees and are approved, but it is very important that lobbying proposals aimed at circumventing these restrictions and creating an opportunity for large landowners or companies related to them to acquire land do not reach the plenary hall of the Seimas. “We will certainly follow all registered proposals and initiatives, but it is important that the public does the same. A new safeguard is emerging that will no longer allow circumvention of restrictions, as has been done so far: a legal entity establishes another legal entity, this one another, and so on. The connection ceased to be valid after the fourth time, which is why well-known oligarch families accumulated huge land areas at the expense of small farms,” says Tomas Tomilinas.
It is currently envisaged that farmers with less than 500 hectares of land will be able to purchase adjacent plots of land no larger than 3 hectares, and the total amount of these plots cannot exceed 21 hectares. The interests of small and medium-sized farmers will be ensured by preventing farmers or concerns managing more than 500 hectares, or companies related to them, from acquiring state land adjacent to the plots.
