In order to alleviate financial difficulties, 1.135 million euros could be paid out of the state budget for unforeseen cases to the farmers affected by the storm of August 7 last year, according to the draft regulations prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and submitted to the Legal Acts portal.
In the annotation of the draft regulations, it is mentioned that, in total, the Rural Support Service (LAD) received 337 notifications, in which the affected area of agricultural crops totals 19,046 hectares, or 21% of the total declared area in the country. Of this area, 95% is occupied by crops that could be insured and for which the state offers the opportunity to receive compensation in the amount of 50% for the purchase of an insurance policy.
Of the total affected area, 51% or 9796 hectares were insured, while 49% or 9250 hectares were not insured. Of the uninsured area, 10% or 905.03 hectares are occupied by fruits, berries, vegetables and grasses, and 90% or 8345.96 hectares by cereals, buttercups and oil plants.
Based on the gross agricultural coverage data for the year 2022, that is, the period in which expenses were incurred for the planting and maintenance of plantations killed by storms and hail, the Latvian Rural Consultancy and Education Center (LLKC) calculated the amount of investment in crop areas damaged by storms, which were a statement was made to the LAD. As stated in the annotation, this calculation includes the costs incurred up to the time when the crops and plantations were damaged by storms and hail – for seeds, given fertilizers, used plant protection products and implemented operations with machinery.
The average amount of investments calculated by LLKC for cereals affected by storms is 925 euros per hectare, buttercups – 529 euros per hectare, oil plants – 813 euros per hectare, grasses – 102 euros per hectare, vegetables – 2534 euros per hectare, fruits, berries, perennial plantings – 2484 euros per hectare, small areas – 4585 euros per hectare.
Taking into account the hail and storm damage identified by the RAD and the calculations made by the LLKC, the total loss to farmers amounts to 7,959,294 euros.
As emphasized by the Ministry of Agriculture, taking into account the experience of 2023 related to the impact of climatic conditions on agricultural production, the Ministry has started discussions with representatives of farmers’ organizations about the possibility of introducing a risk fund with a mandatory payment. Thus, in the future, state support should not be provided in such cases, the ministry notes.
In order for the support to be targeted and directed at market-oriented farmers, but at the same time not to degrade the state-implemented insurance system and to promote the insurance of crop sowing areas in the future, as well as to reduce the administrative burden on farmers as much as possible, the draft regulations set several criteria for receiving support. Among them, the support is planned to be given to the farmer who has notified the RAD about the damage, the support will be given to the areas that were not insured, as well as to those farmers whose area of cereals, oilseeds and oil plants affected by the storm and hail makes up at least 90% of the total declared area of the relevant crop .
Also, the draft regulation stipulates that support will be granted to those areas for which no other support or compensation payment has been received.
ZM expects that 133 applicants will apply for support. The assumption is based on the requirement of compliance with certain criteria. The amount of compensation will be determined on an individual level, based on the summary made by the LAD of the submitted notifications on the crop areas affected by storms and the calculated support rates.
It has already been reported that on August 7 last year, a cold air front crossed Latvia, and as a result, strong storm clouds formed in the warm and humid air mass, which brought with them extremely heavy rains, strong wind gusts and large hailstones. Initially, the storm hit Zemgali and the central part of the country, causing particularly heavy damage in Dobele district.
In November, farmers affected by the storm met with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture to find solutions for stabilizing farms after the storm.
