The government has decided to provide the agriculture sector with almost €165 million in additional funding, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) said after the government's away-from-home session held in Nitra on Wednesday, which was also attended by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and representatives of agricultural organisations.
According to Takáč, the current government has raised the agricultural sector to a completely different level compared with previous years.
"The agricultural sector, agriculture and the food industry form a strategic industry. We need to do everything we can to gradually increase our security and self-sufficiency," said Takáč.
Fico said that €77.7 million will go towards increasing the allocation for direct payments and €37 million will be earmarked for advance payments to local action groups. "Almost €20 million will support farmers in connection with the rising prices of fertilisers and energy. And €30 million will go towards damage caused by drought," specified Fico.
According to him, the government has a huge problem with the European Commission's proposal for the 2028–2034 budget in terms of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
"The government cannot accept that the two most important and decisive policies, namely the cohesion policy aimed at removing the regional disparities, as well as the Common Agricultural Policy, should be subject to massive cuts," added Fico.
Source: TASR
