In 2024, the agricultural sector in Spain faces a significant challenge. increase in fertilizer prices. To mitigate this impact, the Government has implemented an extraordinary aid programme. Fertilizer price increases are subsidies designed to support farmers and agricultural producers facing higher production costs. These aids are intended to partially compensate for the increase in expenses and ensure the sustainability of agricultural activities.
These aids Article 30 of Royal Decree No. 20/2022, Measures dated 27 December to respond to the economic and social consequences of the War in Ukraine and to support the reconstruction of the island of La Palma and other situations of vulnerability.
These aids, which have a budget of 300 million euros, will be managed directly by the Ministry. Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA).
Land uses that will benefit from this assistance are: Agricultural lands, excluding temporary pastures and fallows and permanent crops. Therefore, permanent pastures, temporary pastures, fallow pastures and non-agricultural areas declared in a single application will not be able to benefit from this aid. The ministry clarified that the definitions of such land use will be those contained in article 3 of Royal Decree 1048/2022 of 27 December.
Requirements to access assistance for leftover fertilizers
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food explains that the conditions that must be met to benefit from this aid are as follows:
- Be a single applicant for CAP assistance for the 2022 campaign and those entitled to at least one direct aid per district. Direct aid per area is understood as: o basic payment, o small farmer regime, o green payment, o payment for young farmers, o combined aid linked to crop areas and o special payment per cotton crop. This means that farm owners who do not meet the requirements to receive direct payments in the 2022 campaign are excluded from this fertilizer assistance (e.g. requirements such as meeting the single application deadline, active farmer status, right of access). minimum direct deposit amount is 300 euros, meets eligibility requirements, etc.).
- Having permanent planting areas and/or suitable planting areas Collecting at least one direct aid per region.
- Stay current on your tax and Social Security obligations.
- Reach the minimum amount of 200 Euros for this fertilizer aid.
How much is the aid given to the fertilizer price increase?
In this case, it is necessary to differentiate, since the following two maximum unit quantities are considered depending on the use:
- 22 euros per hectare of dry land
- 55 euros per irrigated hectare.
There is no distinction between cultivated land (TC) and permanent crops (CP).
The final unit amounts were calculated by FEGA according to the provisional list of beneficiaries and recipients who can benefit from this aid, and the following values were reached:
- 20.823597 Euros per hectare of dry land
- 52.058992 Euro per irrigated hectare
The Ministry announced that after determining these exact unit amounts, the aid the beneficiary will receive is calculated by multiplying the hectares subject to the aid explained in the 3rd question by these amounts.
The public authority also warns that two more points should be taken into account:
- The minimum payment threshold is 200 euros. If the amount calculated according to the previous paragraph is below 200 Euros, the beneficiary will not be able to benefit from this aid.
- The surface limit is 300 hectares. If the eligible area of a farm exceeds this limit, only the first 300 hectares will be eligible for assistance. If the farm has irrigated and dry land, the granting of aid will be prioritized over the irrigated area.
How to request assistance for the increase in fertilizer prices?
According to the Ministry of Agriculture “It is not planned to apply to benefit from this assistance.. FEGA will determine ex officio the list of beneficiary farmers and the amount of aid each will receive.
It is very important to note that all operations related to these benefits, including the publication of decisions, submission of claims, correction of procedures and notifications to interested parties, will be carried out exclusively by electronic means through the FEGA electronic center.
Finally, the Ministry warns farmers that the beneficiary or his representative must have a valid digital certificate in order for all these transactions to be carried out online.