On 30 June, farming organisations representing approximately 10,000 farmers, forest owners and farms, using the mandate granted to them, submitted a demand to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM), Artūrs Toms Plešs, to establish a dialogue, requesting an apology from the Minister and asking him to stop dividing Latvian society using taxpayers' money. At the same time, the representatives of the organisations warn that if the Minister continues to avoid dialogue, a wave of protests across Latvia is likely to be initiated, and the resignation of A. T. Plešs will be demanded.

The three-point demand submitted by the associations includes the following requirements:

• VARAM Minister Artūrs Toms Plešs must immediately apologise to the sector for a project implemented by the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund (LVAF), which he leads, under which more than 80,000 euros of taxpayers' money have been used to disseminate hate-inciting and socially divisive information in public about Latvian farmers, labelling them 'mass murderers'.

• in future, when allocating funding for 'Promotion of public environmental awareness in the media' projects, to involve competent industry experts and scientists in content development: farmers, foresters and representatives of higher education institutions, rather than only representatives of environmental organisations. This would maximally exclude the publication of scientifically unfounded, hate-inciting, one-sided or blatantly false information funded by taxpayers.

• to revise the composition of the LVAF council by including 1 representative from farmers, 1 from foresters and 1 from environmental organisations, thereby fostering sectoral development and sustainability, as well as to restore the previously existing consultative council of agriculture, forestry and environmental organisations in order to start a meaningful and constructive dialogue with environmental organisations.