The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food released, on Tuesday, a provisional list naming 139,756 farm owners who cultivate agricultural land. This step comes as farmers protest on roads nationwide continues. The government has announced a total aid package of 268.7 million euros intended to offset drought impacts and the consequences of the Ukraine conflict for dry land, rice, and industrial tomato operations.
The support measures were established under Royal Decree 4/2023. Beginning May 11, eligible agricultural business owners, including natural persons or legal entities without another legal entity, and other legal entities, may receive direct aid under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) framework for the 2023 campaign. Applicants include farms with dry crop land, excluded from temporary pastures, irrigated lands in traditional rice zones, and those with a defined surface area for industrial tomato cultivation in recent campaigns.
The exact hectares eligible for aid were determined by the Council of Ministers, upon the recommendation of the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA). This follows the criteria set out in Decision APA/871/2023, dated 20 July, which elaborated the royal decree mentioned above.
Aid amounts vary by land use. For farms where dry crops constitute most of the area, 19.94 euros per hectare applies. A separate line supports industrial tomato producers with 407.66 euros per hectare. For farms where rice dominates the landscape, 186.10 euros per hectare applies, and there is a 39.88 euros per hectare rate for certain dry cropland situations.
The majority of farms receiving these funds come from Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, and Andalusia, with notable counts and aid totals: Castile and León comprises 36,882 farms and just over 64 million euros; Castile-La Mancha has 33,673 farms and about 72 million euros; and Andalusia houses 20,982 farms with around 43 million euros. Catalonia has 10,776 farms receiving roughly 12.77 million euros in aid.
Areas suitable for rice and industrial tomatoes correspond to regions where these crops were not planted in 2023.
High-impact zones for dry crop lands were identified across several autonomous communities. Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Madrid, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, La Rioja, Murcia, and Navarra, along with the provinces of Álava, Ávila, Salamanca, Segovia, and the Treviño district of Burgos, are listed among the regions with stronger indicators.
Regions with a medium impact include Balearic and Canary Islands, and several provinces such as Burgos outside Treviño, León, Palencia, Soria, Valladolid, and Zamora. Allocation is based on the region where the 2023 CAP single payment is managed, ensuring broad coverage where it is most needed.