Pumpkin farming is growing more popular in Lithuania – this year, the total area of pumpkin fields expanded by a third. However, some of the farmers are growing the yellow vegetables for subsidies rather than yields.
The Dijokai family farm fields in the District of Radviliškis are dotted with thousands of yellowing pumpkins. This year, the harvest is record-breaking, around 70 tonnes of pumpkins per hectare.
Most of the pumpkins in the 9-hectare farm are used to make seed oil, only a small proportion, 30 ares, are intended for food or Halloween decorations, says Žygimantas Dijokas.
Some of the pumpkins the farmers just give away every autumn.
“People come to see various exhibitions, to go for a walk, to do the maze,” says Modesta Dijokienė.
Pumpkins grown by Martynas Laukaitis, a farmer in the District of Šakiai, are already in warehouses. They are being packed and prepared for the market.
“If you want a nice pumpkin, of regular size, you buy expensive seeds so that it grows the way you want it to, then you have to pick carefully,” says Laukaitis.
His yield this year is about 600 kilograms. Contracts with buyers have already been concluded.
Last year, the demand for pumpkins was more than he could meet – and he could not find other suppliers. “Most farmers grow varieties that are not suitable for selling,” Laukaitis says.
Farming for subsidies
The land area used for pumpkin farming in Lithuania this year is almost 2,000 hectares, 500 more than last year. According to the Vegetable Growers Association, most pumpkin farmers are doing it for EU payments rather than prospects of selling their produce on the market.
“To get higher payments and to justify that they are actually farming something. Resources are wasted to plough the land, fuel and everything, and then the produce is left to rot in the fields,” says Zofija Cironkienė, an expert with the Vegetable Growers Association.
The Association has repeatedly proposed to scrap subsidies for pumpkin growers in order to eliminate incentives for fake farming. Moreover, as pumpkin fields expand, other farmers receive relatively smaller payouts.
Last year, the proposal was implemented. This year, pumpkin farmers can once again apply for subsidies, but under tighter controls: if pumpkin fields are bigger than one hectare, growers have to send photos of their harvest.
The Agriculture Ministry says there are no plans to completely exclude pumpkin farmers from the support system. However, tighter controls may be introduced to eliminate “subsidy farming”.
This year, more than 2 million euros in support is earmarked for the entire vegetable farming sector. Initial estimates suggest that the payment per hectare could be around 420 euros.
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