From September 4 to 6, 2024, the National Paying Agency (NPA) participated in the 23rd annual Baltic and Polish Paying Agencies’ Conference in Tartu, Estonia. The conference was hosted by the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (ARIB), Estonia’s paying agency. Representatives from the paying agencies of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Finland gathered to exchange information, share best practices, and consult on daily operational issues, all aimed at enhancing the effective and efficient implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The conference featured presentations on the achievements and experiences of paying agencies in administering activities under the Rural Development Programmes and Strategic Plans for 2023–2027. Key topics included current challenges and solutions related to CAP implementation. Highlights included:

  • A presentation on data valorization and the use of Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards to enhance efficiency in ARIB, Estonia.
  • Insights from the Polish paying agency ARMA on optimizing processes for handling agricultural investment applications.
  • An update from the Latvian paying agency RSS on the results of the first year of CAP reform related to IACS payments in Latvia.

During the conference, NPA Deputy Director Tomas Orlickas delivered a presentation titled “AMS Current and Future Impact.” He outlined the results of Lithuania’s implementation of the area monitoring system (AMS) and introduced ongoing international projects involving the NPA, including the EU LIFE-funded GFarm for LIFE project.

The GFarm for LIFE project aims to contribute to national and EU climate change mitigation goals by enabling systemic changes in Lithuania’s agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector. Its focus includes managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fostering carbon storage farming initiatives, and developing a common technological infrastructure with digital tools for monitoring GHG balances and soil organic carbon storage. The project unites key stakeholders from science, business, public, and state sectors to develop an ecosystem model for more accurate and reliable GHG assessment and to design a framework for national carbon absorption certification and monitoring.

This year’s workshops emphasized the practicalities of implementing monitoring systems and simplifying investment measures using artificial intelligence, control systems, and simplified cost methods.

On the final day, the Lithuanian Paying Agency (NPA) was announced as the host of the 2025 Conference of the Paying Agencies of the Baltic States and Poland.

Annual meetings like this, which focus on pressing issues and technological solutions for administering agricultural and rural development support, play a vital role in improving processes and strengthening collaboration among neighboring European paying agencies.