Estonia plans to direct €546M linked to the country’s agricultural income gap into agriculture and food production investment during the next European Union budget period, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Monday. A substantial share is expected to support food manufacturing, according to Tööstusuudised.
Michal made the commitment during a meeting with representatives of the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce (EPKK) on August 31. The meeting focused on how the additional funding in the 2028–2034 EU budget period should be allocated in Estonia’s national plan.
EPKK said the €546M should be used in full for investment in agriculture and the food sector, as well as for strengthening their competitiveness. The chamber has submitted a detailed proposal for distributing the funds and said the allocation should be developed jointly with the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.
Production investment at the centre of the funding debate
The proposed allocation has prompted debate over how much of the money would directly increase Estonia’s domestic production and processing capacity. An initial proposal prepared by a working group of 17 specialists would direct €295M to the development of agriculture and food production.
That figure includes €245M for food security and €50M for the food industry. The food-security funding would cover measures aimed at increasing self-sufficiency and critical capacity, including pig farming, poultry meat and egg production, horticulture, potatoes, greenhouses, irrigation, storage and breeding.
A further €110M within the food-security allocation is intended for productivity and competitiveness measures, including technology, resource efficiency, biogas, renewable energy and value-adding. Another €50M would support crisis resilience, including biosecurity, land improvement, reserves, logistics, food safety and the capabilities of state agencies and laboratories.
The proposal also includes €117M for environmental measures administered by the Ministry of Climate, including biodiversity in private forests in Natura 2000 areas, heritage meadows, water and soil protection, and forestry investments. EPKK has argued that such spending should be identified separately from direct investment in agricultural and food-production capacity.
The food industry’s proposed €50M allocation over seven years would be below the €78.1M available during the current budget period.
Sector expects more than €2 billion in investment
EPKK said public investment support could attract additional private-sector spending. “In addition to investment support, the private sector will invest up to twice as much itself,” EPKK council chairman Sivar Irval said, putting the potential total investment in agriculture and food production at more than €2 billion over seven years.
The chamber said Estonia’s agricultural enterprises had €1,567 worth of buildings, machinery and equipment per hectare in 2024, compared with an EU average of €2,456. Output value was €1,350 per hectare in Estonia and €3,025 across the EU, according to the figures cited in the source material.
Estonia also imported €539M more in agricultural and food products than it exported last year. EPKK said new farms, greenhouses, storage facilities, production lines and processing capacity would be needed to improve domestic supply and competitiveness.
The government is expected to address the sector’s priorities in its September decision on the national plan. EPKK wants the principle of directing the €546M toward agriculture and food-production investment to be formally recorded in that decision.
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