Slovakia’s Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč (Smer-SD) has announced a package of eight measures aimed at helping farmers cope with the effects of the ongoing drought.
The main measure is earlier access to advance agricultural payments. Around 200 million euros will be made available from September 15, instead of the usual start date of November 1. Farmers will have to meet certain administrative requirements and report the drought as a case of so-called force majeure. The ministry will also allocate five million euros through the so-called green diesel scheme to support livestock farming and help cover higher costs caused by the dry conditions.
Other measures will give farmers more flexibility in using land and feed, while some requirements concerning grasslands and livestock grazing will be temporarily relaxed. Farmers will not be penalised for lower livestock numbers on pastures if this is objectively caused by drought.
Takáč also urged farmers to report the effects of the drought individually to the Agricultural Payment Agency. The agency says it will assess each case using data from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, without requiring farmers to obtain their own certificates confirming the drought.
Source: TASR
