Lithuania

Lithuania spans 65.3 thousand kilometers and has 2,844,593 residents. In Lithuania, there are 6 state reserves covering the area of over 19 thousand ha and 30 regional parks covering the territory of almost 449 thousand ha. Bodies of water cover 267.3 thousand ha of the territory of Lithuania. The national employment rate in Lithuania stands at 74.7%. Agriculture plays a significant role in the country’s economy. It attracts young farmers and despite the challenging demographic conditions faced by Lithuania, overall, the share of the population living in rural areas (56.2%) is one of the highest in the EU. Approximately 45% of the total area of the country is used for agriculture. The primary sector (including agriculture, forestry and fisheries) accounts for 3.6 % of Lithuania’s total gross value added (GVA).

Bioeconomy Policy Framework

Lithuania’s bioeconomy policy development is a collaborative effort with the following roles and responsibilities in Lithuania’s Bioeconomy Policy:

  • The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) oversees sustainable agriculture and forestry practices; promotes circular and bio-based production systems;
  • The Ministry of Environment collaborates with the MoA to ensure environmental sustainability in bioeconomy initiatives;
  • The Ministry of Economy and Innovation fosters innovation and technological development in the bioeconomy;
  • The Ministry of Energy integrates bioeconomy goals into renewable energy strategies, particularly through Bioenergy production (biogas, biofuels) and integration of bio-based energy systems into national energy policy.

The established Lithuanian Bioeconomy HUB is a platform fostering collaboration among ministries, industry leaders, and the scientific community uniting the key supporting and cooperating institutions.

Current bioeconomy strategies and development trends

Bioeconomy sectors as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture and others are partially covered by various documents, such as roadmaps and programmes that are currently in force:

  1. Roadmap for the transition to a circular economy in Lithuania by 2035
  2. A roadmap for the transition of Lithuanian Industry to a Circular Economy (link)
  3. Government resolution on the approval on the concept of research and experimental development and innovation (smart specialisation) (link)
  4. Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of the Agriculture and Food, Rural development and Fisheries development programme of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania, manager of the development programme for 2022-2030 (link)
  5. Lithuanian CAP Strategic Plan for 2023-2027 (link)
  6. Bioeconomy Concept Paper – Lithuania 2023 (link)

visit the Lithuanian HUB

The Lithuanian Bioeconomy HUB was launched on 26 September 2024. The national HUB is envisioned as a central platform for a systematic dialogue between all stakeholders (ministries, science and business representatives, society) and with international partners (HUBs of other BIOEAST countries, and EU institutions).

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Bioeconomy related projects

  • BOOST4BIOEAST project: Boosting the bioeconomy transformation for the BIOEAST macro-region (2024 – 2026) funded by the EC „Horizon Europe”;
  • EUSBSR (EU strategy for the Baltic sea region policy area) – 2022-2024 (co-financing);
  • Advancing sustainable circular bioeconomy in Central and Eastern European countries – BioeastUp) (2019- 2022) financed under “Horizon 2020”);
  • The European Biodiversity Partnership (Biodiversa-plus), 2021–2028;
  • Water Security for the Planet (Water4All), 2022–2029;
  • A climate neutral, sustainable and productive blue economy partnership (SBEP), 2022–2029;
  • European partnership on accelerating farming systems transition – agroecology living labs and research infrastructures (AGROECOLOGY), 2024–2030;
  • European Partnership Animal Health and Welfare (EUPAHW), 2024–2030;
  • European partnership for a sustainable Future of Food Systems (FutureFoodS), 2024–2034.

National contact point

The BIOEAST Initiative’s National Contact Point (NCP) is the Ministry of Agriculture. One of the NCP’s main roles at national level is to interact and coordinate the national views with other bioeconomy related ministries.

Our National Contact Points are:

  • SIMONA BIELIAUSKAITĖ, Ministry of Agriculture (Science, innovation and knowledge development unit);
  • KAROLIS ANUŽIS, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU (Attaché for Rural Development).

 

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania is the state authority of the Republic of Lithuania which shapes, coordinates and controls the implementation of public policy in the following areas: agri-food sector, fisheries (except for conservation and control of fish stocks in inland waters), rural development, land reform, land-use planning, geodesy, cartography, real estate cadastre, state control of land use, engineering development and technical progress of infrastructure in agricultural and rural areas, development of renewable energy resources, support for research, knowledge transfer and implementation of innovation in the fields of agriculture, food industry, fisheries and rural development.

Address

Gedimino pr. 19, LT-01103 Vilnius

Contact

Simona.Bieliauskaite@zum.lt

karolis.anuzis@urm.lt

Useful links

Biodiversa-plus

Water4All

Blue Economy Partnership

AGROECOLOGY

EUPAHW

FutureFoodS