Morawiecki tweeted on Friday: "European drought is a challenge for farmers and consumers across the EU community.” He added: “The Polish government is ready for this year's drought aid. At the same time, we are launching small retention and liming programmes that will protect Polish farmers from the effects of drought in the future.”
Agriculture Minister Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski said on Thursday: “The government will decide Tuesday on the scope of aid for farmers who suffered losses as a result of this year's drought.” He told broadcaster TVP Info that an initial (USD 127 mln, EUR 114 mln) will be earmarked for this purpose.
Last year, financial assistance provided to Polish drought-stricken farmers amounted to PLN 2.2 billion.
Ardanowski said that farmers could count on the same forms of aid as last year, including loans, loan extensions or cancellation of contributions to the agricultural social insurance fund. He added that direct aid per hectare will also be maintained, with rates equal to those set in 2018.
On Friday, Morawiecki encouraged farmers to take advantage of the government's programme to prevent losses due to drought. He said that nearly half a billion zloty was allocated for retention, construction of tanks and digging of wells.
He added: "Also, there are significant subsidies reaching up to around PLN 100,000 for individual farmers in order to prevent drought in the future.”
Around 175,000 farms have so far been affected by drought in Poland this summer, Poland’s PAP news agency reported. Ardanowski said that water shortages are felt on an area totalling about 2.5 million hectares.
As of the end of July, the government estimated the drought-induced losses in agricultural crops at PLN 1.087 billion. However, these are not final estimates, PAP said.
(aba)
Source: PAP, TVP Info