Chairman of Center’s parliamentary group, Tarmo Tamm, to follow Martin Repinski as Minister of Rural Affairs
Martin Repinski, who announced on Tuesday evening that he would step down as Minister of Rural Affairs after less than two weeks in office, will be replaced by MP Tarmo Tamm (Center).
According to information available to ERR, Tamm has agreed to take over the Ministry of Rural Affairs, and the Center Party is expected to make the step public on Wednesday.
Tamm noted that rural life in Estonia is a personal matter for him, having lived in the countryside and worked in the agricultural over half his own life. "Rural life in Estonia needs a lot of serious work and contribution and I am prepared to fully dedicate myself to this," he said, adding that he was glad to see that the Center Party-led coalition had already taken the first steps in dedicating the additional funds needed for the paying out of transitional allowances and crisis support.
"First and foremost, our farmer feels that they are not competitive, i.e. that the volume of their subsidies is much smaller than that of their colleagues in other countries," said Tamm, speaking to ETV news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Wednesday about the issues facing Estonia’s agricultural sector. "Another shortcoming is that we haven’t found the corresponding markets, which the state should be helping to do. And for me the third problem is, why is Estonian milk sold to Latvia or Lithuania [for processing]? We are not a developing country — we should be processing it ourselves."
The new minister-to-be also noted that if the country had collectively lost 12,000 valuable milk cows and was only able to meet 80 percent of Estonia’s own pork needs, then something was very wrong.
Previous experience working in agriculture, living in rural areas
Tarmo Tamm was born in 1953. He graduated from Tihemetsa sovkhoz’s technical college in 1974, and the Estonian University of Life Sciences in 2007. Tamm holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences.
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas announced on Wednesday evening that he would suggest Tamm as Minister for Rural Affairs to the Center Party’s leadership.
"Tarmo Tamm has proven himself on many fronts. He has worked in the field of agriculture for a long time, led the Põlva rural municipality for six years and the town of Põlva for 12 years," Ratas said.
"“I have consulted with many members of our party and people active in rural affairs, who have expressed their support for the nomination of Tarmo Tamm," he added.
Tamm worked as fleet manager for Põlva Agro from 1976 to 1993, served as mayor of Põlva Municipality from 1993 to 1999, and as mayor of Põlva from 1999 to 2011. He followed Mihhail Kõlvart in the Riigikogu the same year, who was leaving to take on the position of deputy mayor of Tallinn.
Tamm joined the Center Party in 2002, and in November of this year was elected chairman of the Center Party’s parliamentary group in the Riigikogu.
Tamm to be replaced as MP by Toomas Paur
Repinski's replacement as Minister of Rural Affairs did not wish to comment on the fate of the advisers hired by preceding minister Martin Repinski. Tamm did, however, state that to his knowledge, he would not be replaced as MP by Alar Nääme.
News portal lõunaeestlane.ee (link in Estonian) reported that Võru city council chairman Toomas Paur would be the one to fill Tamm's seat as MP, likely being sworn in on Monday.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn, Aili Vahtla
Source: ERR/BNS