The Ministry of Rural Development's Parliamentary State Secretary Gyula Budai is holding talks on the details of land regulation in Latvia on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The Hungarian and Latvian agriculture ministries are attempting to achieve the best possible land regulations for their countries in preparation for the expiry of the moratorium on land purchasing on May 1, 2014.
Concentrating on the operation of the land fund, during his visit Gyula Budai will be meeting with Parliamentary Secretary Edvards Smittens, Deputy State Secretary Aivars Lapins and Deputy Strata Secretary Rigonda Lerhe, as well as with the Mayor of Valmeira. The State Secretary's two-day trip will include visits to an agricultural plant and a model farm.
Prior to their upcoming meeting, Gyula Budai and Parliamentary State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture Edvards Smittens held talks in Budapest a the Ministry of Rural Development on December 4. The experts from Latvia were introduced to the concept behind the proposed legislation on the purchasing of agricultural and forestry land, and on its system of instruments. After the December meeting, Gyula Budai told reporters that the regulation of land purchasing is an area of primary importance for the Hungarian Government, as farmland is a natural treasure for the country and is only limitedly available.
When elaborating the proposed legislation, Hungarian experts developed a complex system of criteria taking into account the opinions of representatives from the agriculture sector. While conforming to estate policy and rural development strategic objectives, the new law must also help reinforce small and medium-sized family-run farms, and especially enable the acquisition of land by farmers who live locally and are prepared and able to work the land. This is a further way in which the Government is supporting the preservation of the population retention, income generation and employment capabilities of rural areas.
(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)
