The Government allocates more than 61.9 million euros to Castilla y León in extraordinary aid to 35,500 farmers of rain-fed farmlands

● The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food distributes a total of 252 million euros to about 131,500 producers of industrial rain-fed crops, rice and tomato. ● These supports are financed from the General State Budgets to compensate for the difficulties due to drought and war in Ukraine. ● Beneficiary farmers will receive the income between the last days of March and the first of April. ● Since March 2022, EUR 1.334 billion of the EUR 1.380 billion approved by the Government for extraordinary aid has been paid to farmers and ranchers.

March 21, 2024.- The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, allocates 61,960,408 euros to Castile and Leon for extraordinary aid to compensate the situation due to the drought and the conditions arising from the war in Ukraine, which will benefit 35,541 holders of agricultural farms producing rain-fed land in this community.

This aid is part of the total of 251.9 million euros that will benefit 131,488 producers of dry crops, rice and tomatoes from industry that appear in the list of the resolution published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The aid will be entered into farmers’ bank accounts in the last days of March or the first days of April.

This figure represents 94% of the total budget allocated to this support line, 268.7 million euros. This aid was approved by the Government through Royal Decree-Law 4/2023 of 11 May, which adopts urgent agrarian and water measures in response to drought and worsening conditions in the primary sector resulting from the war in Ukraine and weather conditions. With these new payments, 1,334 million euros will have been paid to farmers and ranchers out of the 1,380 million euros that have been approved by the Government as extraordinary aid.

Beneficiaries

The aid benefits holders of agricultural holdings who are eligible for direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 2023 marketing year and who count on rain-fed farmland, excluding temporary pasture, irrigated in areas of traditional rice cultivation or land determined for aid associated with industrial tomato cultivation in recent marketing years.

The number of eligible hectares for this aid has been determined ex officio by the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA), according to the criteria established in Order APA/871/2023, of July 20, which develops the aforementioned royal decree-law.

The eligible area of rain-growing land corresponds to the hectares of land, excluding temporary pastures, determined for the receipt of direct aid corresponding to the single application of the CAP 2023. In the case of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, the number of hectares listed in the General Register of Agricultural Production (REGEPA) as of June 30, 2023 has been taken as a reference.

A maximum of 300 eligible hectares have been established for each beneficiary for these rain-fed farmlands.

The eligible areas of rice and tomato from industry correspond to the one in which no sowing has been carried out in the year 2023.

In this link on the EAGGF website, a FAQ document prepared specifically for this aid can be found, which explains, among other things, the calculation of eligible areas for each type of product and is illustrated by various examples.

The final unit amounts established by the EAGGF are:

1. EUR 39,880605 per eligible hectare of rain-fed farmland, in the provinces classified as an area of high drought affectation.
2. €19,940303 per eligible hectare of rain-fed farmland, in the provinces classified as an area of average drought impact.
3. €186,109491 per eligible hectare of rice.
4. €407,668408 per eligible hectare of industrial tomato.

No aid is granted to beneficiaries whose total amount to be received is less than 200 euros.

The areas of high affectation for the rain-growing lands established in Order APA/871/2023 are the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Extremadura, La Rioja, Murcia and Navarra, and the provinces of Álava, Ávila, Salamanca and Segovia, as well as the enclave of Treviño (Burgos).

The areas of medium affection are the autonomous communities of the Balearic and Canary Islands, and the provinces of Burgos (except the enclave of Treviño), León, Palencia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora.

The list of holders of agricultural holdings who will receive this aid, together with the number of eligible hectares and the amount of the aid to be received can be consulted on the bulletin board of the EAGGF electronic headquarters.

The holders listed in the published concession resolution are those who appeared in the provisional of February 5, are aware of their tax and Social Security obligations and have not submitted substantial claims.

The published resolution also includes those holders who have not been paid because they have been detected that they are not aware of their tax obligations or with Social Security. Within a maximum of one month, a second check will be carried out to verify whether the deficiencies have been remedied and, if they have done so, they will be able to receive the aid.

The resolution also includes a series of headlines that appeared in the provisional of 5 February, but the aid has been dismissed as a result of an official review by the autonomous community.

In the case of owners who have submitted claims on aspects related to the affected area, owners of the exploitation or number of hectares, these will be sent to the corresponding autonomous communities for their analysis. They will then be resolved and, if necessary, the payment of the aid.

More information in this link.