The former chancellor of the Ministry of Rural Affairs, Ants Noot, who is also the chairman of the Council of the University of Life Sciences, was elected as the new head of the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce.
The new head of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce said that one of the most important goals of the chamber is to continue to stand up for the interests of its members. “The greatest opportunity to stand up for interests is to actively participate in the process of shaping agricultural policy, both at the EU and Estonian level. Here, my previous experience of being chancellor will definitely come in handy,” said Noot.
Noot considers the issue of increasing the number of direct members of the chamber to be another major task. “Today there are many rural and agricultural entrepreneurs who do not belong to any organization, but whose voice could be heard more,” he said. “At the same time, I will use the opportunity to recognize the long-term contribution of the previous leader, Roomet Sõrmus, to the activities of the chamber, which gives me a good starting position when dealing with key issues in the field,” he added.
Chairman of the Council of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, Sivar Irval, said that there were several important aspects in favor of Ants Noot. “Above all, good knowledge of the field and experience in managing large companies,” Irval pointed out. “We see that Noot can help implement many of the chamber’s goals and meet challenges that the agricultural sector is currently facing, For example, giving inputs to the coalition agreement to the political parties forming the government after the elections, achieving and implementing the green deal that is as favorable as possible for agriculture, forestry and food production, Irval listed.
Noot confirmed that challenges related to the green transition can be considered a major topic in the agricultural sector. “As you know, Estonia has committed to achieving an additional carbon sequestration goal of 2.5 million tons by 2030 in the field of land and forest use (LULUCF). The goal is known, but how this goal will be achieved is unclear. When developing implementation measures, it is crucial that the competitiveness of agriculture and food production, and thus Estonia’s food security, does not suffer,” explained Noot. “Good investments have been made in the Estonian food industry sector, and the food we produce is of high quality and our operations are environmentally friendly. We have an obligation to maintain the level of domestic food supply and to increase it even more in some areas,” he stated.
Noot said that thanks to the people working in the agricultural sector, Estonians can be sure that they can eat high-quality, environmentally friendly, local food. “Despite difficult periods, over different periods of time, we have managed well,” confirmed Noot.
Ants Noot started working as chairman of the board of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce on January 16, 2023.