- This aid will help to ease the financial pressure on the agricultural sector.
- Farmers will be able to receive up to 70% of direct payments in advance, instead of the 50% previously allowed.
The European Commission has approved an increase in advance payments of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds to help EU farmers facing severe liquidity problems. These measures are in response to the economic difficulties European farmers are facing due to frequent extreme weather events, which are affecting harvests. The Commission is also acting in response to the rising costs of agricultural supplies, raw materials and high interest rates.
The background to this measure is the request by several EU countries to increase these claims, citing the need to provide an economic safety net for farmers, one of the central objectives of the CAP. From 16 October 2024, farmers will be able to receive up to 70% of direct payments in advance, instead of the 50% allowed until now. On the other hand, advances for rural interventions per area and per number of animals may be increased from 75% to 85%.
In addition, other flexibility measures for farmers and national administrations have been implemented this year. The European Commission has distributed part of the agricultural reserve to farmers in Member States particularly affected by adverse weather conditions. With these measures, the European Commission aims to stabilize the agricultural sector, ensuring that producers can continue their activity in the current economic difficulties.
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About HIBA+:
The Interreg HIBA+ project gives continuity to the Interreg HIBA- HUB IBERIA AGROTECH project, for the digitalization of the agri-food sector in Spain and Portugal through the creation of a network of Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH). The main objective of INTERREG HIBA + is to promote the digitalization of SMEs and micro-enterprises in the agri-food sector, based on the figure of the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), to enhance their ability to adapt to changes in the working models of society, where digital tools are taking clear prominence to overcome crisis situations faced by the sector. The project has a budget of €2,845,222.77, and during its three years of life will seek to capitalize on the achievements of the previous HIBA project, to strengthen and consolidate a cross-border collaborative network to support SMEs. HIBA+ proposes innovative cross-border solutions that value the identified potentialities and will remove many barriers for companies in the agri-food sector in terms of digital maturity, competitiveness and visibility, and will respond to some of the priority objectives of the POCTEP space. At the same time, it will continue to promote the emergence of new professional profiles, already initiated in the previous version of the project, to meet the demand of companies and will encourage the emergence of new companies from an ecosystem of experimentation that will contribute to the generation of wealth in the regions.
About Finnova:
Finnova is a European foundation based in Brussels and Spain, whose objectives are to promote public-private cooperation through innovation to address social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship, the UN SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova organizes the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognize the best European startups in the social field.