Fruit and vegetable growers to receive EUR 4.2 million in EU emergency support for damage caused by frosts and rains in 2024
On Tuesday, June 17, the government approved the conditions for granting EU emergency support for fruit and vegetable growing areas affected in 2024, aiming to mitigate the economic losses caused by frosts and heavy rains that have impacted the viability of these farms. The total amount of support allocated to Latvia is EUR 4.2 million.
“By defending the interests of our country’s farmers, it is possible to achieve favorable decisions at the EU level. After the devastating frosts and rains of 2024, which caused significant losses to horticulturists and fruit growers, we turned to the European Commission with a request for support. And we achieved it. The support will be granted to farms whose total agricultural income per declared hectare in 2024 has decreased by at least 20% compared to the average income per declared hectare in 2021, 2022, and 2023,” emphasized Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze.
Support will be provided for:
- Mitigating damage caused by frost – to fruit growers;
- Mitigating damage caused by rain – to fruit and vegetable growers.
Additionally, if a farmer also suffered from adverse weather conditions in 2023, that year will not be taken into account in the calculation.
Perennial plantings that are one or two years old will be excluded from the calculation, as they do not yield a sufficient harvest during their first two years and do not contribute significantly to the farm’s total agricultural income.
The support may not exceed 80% of the average income from previous years to prevent overcompensation.
The minimum eligible support area must be at least 0.5 hectares.
To apply for the support, applicants must submit an application to the Rural Support Service (LAD), indicating only the affected areas and crops, as the remaining information is already available to the relevant government authorities. LAD holds data on the areas declared in the geospatial application for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, while income data from agricultural activities will be obtained from the State Revenue Service.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Support Service