Protected farmers, supplied citizens and started the campaign ‘Let’s live healthier’

 

Mindaugas MACIULEVIČIUS
The Quality of Lithuanian agricultural farm produce Agricultural Cooperative

The last couple of months have been very challenging, but we tried to find solutions and not lose hope. Being active in an agricultural cooperative that organises mobile farmers' markets in Lithuania's four biggest cities, it was very important to protect our farmers and make their everyday business safe. It is of the highest importance at this time, to supply citizens with fresh natural food from the countryside, to send a signal that there is no need for panic and that there is plenty of food available. We started the Let's live healthier campaign, in order to promote natural products and remind people of the importance of a healthy diet. In this context, the most important issue at European level is our food security. We have done so much work in relation to sustainable food systems in the past. Now it is obvious how important it is to implement these systems as soon as possible. Farmers in Europe, as in Lithuania, are facing disruptions to the market and now is the time for the European Commission to step in. We can see that global supply chains are not functioning properly and it is a challenge for our exports. At the same time, in our internal single market, we can see some disturbances and there is a lack of seasonal workers on farms, as borders are closed for travel. This is a worrying issue for most farmers in the western parts of Europe. Now is the time to rethink our agriculture and remind our citizens how important the food supply is. Stay safe, eat fresh and healthy!

Work organisation