More Opportunities for Farms: Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines, Risk Management and ALTUM Financing
How can farms strengthen their resilience to climate change, plan investments and make use of available financing opportunities? These questions were at the heart of the free webinar “More Opportunities for Farms!”, held on 13 October and organised by the Sustainability Cluster and the Latvian Farmers’ Parliament (LOSP).
During the webinar, experts discussed the role of agricultural insurance in risk management, introduced the Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines and explained the financial instruments available to farmers through ALTUM.
Agricultural Risk Management Is Becoming Increasingly Important
Jānis Abāšins, President of the Latvian Insurers Association, emphasised during the webinar that climate-related and weather-related risks in agriculture have become increasingly significant in recent years. Storms, frost, droughts and intense rainfall can substantially affect both crop yields and the financial performance of farms.
Agricultural insurance is one of the tools that can help manage these risks. In Latvia, insurance is particularly well established in grain farming, where the proportion of insured land exceeds half of the total cultivated area. At the same time, the availability of suitable insurance solutions for fruit and vegetable production remains limited.
The discussion highlighted the need for continued cooperation between farmers, insurers and public institutions to improve existing products and develop solutions that better meet the needs of farms.
Importantly, insurance is not the only tool for managing risks. Farms also need sound financial planning, risk assessment and timely preparation for different development scenarios.
Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines: A Practical Foundation for Farm Development
Armands Gūtmanis and Justs Dimants, representatives of the Sustainability Cluster, introduced the Guidelines for Achieving Sustainability Goals in Latvian Agriculture and explained their practical value for farm development.
The primary purpose of the guidelines is to help farmers identify solutions suited to the specific circumstances and needs of their farms, while strengthening economic viability, production stability and competitiveness.
Sustainable farming does not mean applying one universal solution to every farm. Each farmer needs to assess their farm's situation, available resources, investment opportunities and development objectives.
The guidelines cover several interconnected areas:
Energy use and energy efficiency — assessing energy consumption and selecting the technologies best suited to the farm.
Carbon farming — improving soil conditions, implementing crop rotation, managing grasslands and improving nutrient management.
Financial sustainability — assessing the economic rationale for investments, cash flow, costs and potential risks.
Soil conservation — evaluating soil quality, organic matter content, soil structure and erosion risks.
Water resource management — assessing water availability, excess water and the role of drainage systems in maintaining stable production.
EU support instruments and investments — identifying financing opportunities that meet the farm's needs and preparing for the next EU funding programming period.
The guidelines particularly emphasise the importance of defining the problem to be addressed before making significant investments, calculating investment costs and potential returns, and determining how the results will be measured.
ALTUM Financing Opportunities for Farms
Armands Alksnis, ALTUM's Zemgale Regional Manager, presented the financial instruments available to farmers, including small loans for rural areas with a capital rebate and a loan refinancing programme.
Other opportunities were also discussed that can help finance farm investments, machinery purchases, construction, agricultural land acquisition and working capital.
In certain cases, financial instruments can also help stabilise a farm's financial position, for example, by restructuring existing loan obligations. However, the availability of each programme depends on its specific terms and the farm's eligibility.
The webinar highlighted that thorough preparation for securing financing is just as important as the financing opportunity itself. Before making investments, farms should prepare a sound economic assessment, forecast their cash flow and evaluate their overall debt burden.
This is also consistent with a key principle emphasised in the Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines: investments should address specific farm needs and contribute to long-term viability.
Sustainability Starts with Informed Decisions
The webinar's key takeaway was that farm sustainability is not solely an environmental issue. It is closely linked to the ability to manage risks, control costs, plan investments and adapt to changing climatic and economic conditions.
Timely risk assessment, the selection of appropriate technologies and well-planned financing can help build more resilient and competitive agricultural businesses.
The Sustainability Cluster and LOSP continue their work to improve farmers' access to information, share practical solutions and strengthen the development of sustainable agriculture in Latvia.
Explore the Sustainable Agriculture Guidelines!
Farmers and other interested parties are invited to explore the Guidelines for Achieving Sustainability Goals in Latvian Agriculture and apply the recommendations they contain when planning the development of their farms.
The guidelines were developed as part of the project “Informing Latvian Agricultural Professionals and Developing Guidelines for Achieving Sustainability Goals in Agriculture” (No. EKII-9/26). The project is funded by the Emissions Auctioning Instrument (EKII).
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