Food producers speaking at an economic policy event of the non-parliamentary Right-wingers’ party said the sector’s biggest concern is that it is not clear what restrictions related to the green transition will affect the sector in the near term.
This, they say, is making it difficult to invest and develop production facilities.
“The future is a cause for concern. We have already made a great contribution to making the world a greener and better place. The current situation, where we do not have clarity on what restrictions will affect us, is slowing down investments,” Margus Muld, CEO of the food producer Agrone, said in a press release.
He said that as things stand, the construction of more modern animal housing has to be put on pause. The required large investments cannot be made in a situation where future requirements, which affect the return on investment, are not known.
“We should have confidence that there will be no obligation to reduce the number of animals during the payback period,” he said.
Kerli Ats, head of the Estonian Farmers’ Federation, said farmers understand that the green transition is necessary.
“But politicians and consumers also need to start to understand the environmental impact that food production entails, in order to make the right and meaningful decisions, both in policy-making and as consumers. The message from producers is that there are too many changes for them and they are happening too quickly, even faster than the progress of science can support them,” Ats, head of the association of small agricultural holdings, said.
She said that while it takes years to develop new technologies and adopt greener methods, the sector needs to remain viable during this transitional period to ensure Estonia’s food security. This means that the sector requires stability and support to transition to more sustainable practices without jeopardizing production and the availability of food.
Source: BNS
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