Store shelves should be full of turnips — agricultural stats show Estonia is growing nearly seven times more than a few years ago, yet in reality not a single turnip reaches the market.

In addition to turnips, pumpkin cultivation has also multiplied. In 2024, pumpkins were grown on 50 hectares, but this year subsidies were requested for 224 hectares. Red beet was grown on 65 hectares a couple of years ago, but this year nearly 594.

These numbers are driven by clever scheming, said Estonian Gardening Association's CEO Raimond Strastin.

"Cheap seed is bought with the aim of defrauding the state for subsidies, sown with a grain drill without any plan to obtain or harvest a crop," Strastin said.

During summer, these fields are not maintained, and in autumn the crop is simply plowed back into the soil — but vegetable‑growing subsidies are still requested. Since vegetable cultivation had been declining for years, additional subsidies have recently been paid for root‑crop growing. Such subsidy fraud angers the few farmers whose actual root crops do reach stores.

"This is direct theft from real producers, because vegetable‑production subsidies are meant to compensate for this hard work and to provide valuable goods for people's tables — goods that in Estonia are produced at roughly half of what is needed," said Mart Timmi, a farmer at Jaagomäe farm.

In earlier years, Jaagomäe farm received nearly 400 euros per hectare in subsidies, but this year the amount is 160 euros due to schemers, since the total subsidy pool has not increased. The Ministry of Agriculture became aware of the manipulation late last year, and therefore this year ten times more vegetable‑subsidy applicants have been inspected than before.

"There are two types of violations. In one case, the declared crop is simply not found in the field — and applications are submitted in spring. In the other case, the crop does not grow according to local agrotechnical norms. This means it is too weedy or is grown in a way that is not typical for that specific crop," said Katrin Rannik, head of the agricultural environment department at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Rannik admits that tighter inspections likely are not enough, and they are also quite costly. Therefore, other solutions are being considered.

"A more radical example is that turnip as a crop likely will no longer be eligible for vegetable subsidies. Carrot and pumpkin will certainly remain, because at least we have seen those on store shelves," Rannik said.

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