Lazdiņš said the heat had come a month too early this summer, thus drying out arable crops, including vegetables, but later rains had prevented them from being harvested.
It also affected cereal yields, which were 30% lower this year than planned.
“The only way we can fix this is the mitigation of risks and the insurance that goes up every year. [..] There are currently 350-400 thousand hectares insured in Latvia, which is 30% of the total area,” said Lazdiņš.
He also expressed hope that the state would continue to support an insurance premium for partially covering losses. “Because there are talks backstage about the fact that rates will fall. But we don't see any justification for this at the moment, because climate risks need to be mitigated and this is one of the ways to do this,” Lazdiņš said.
