The Cantabrian Executive, through the Ministry of Rural Development, Livestock, Fishing, and Food, has reserved 115,000 euros this year to support the work of the Agricultural Professional Organizations (OPAs) and cooperatives in assisting farmers and ranchers in the completion and registration of applications for the different lines of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Of the total amount planned, which will be granted through the ordinary procedure of competitive bidding, 100,000 euros will be directed to the OPAs and 15,000 euros will be reserved for agricultural cooperatives.
The call, published this Thursday in the Official Bulletin of Cantabria (BOC), aims to cover the advisory and support work for field professionals. Actions carried out by the OPAs and agricultural cooperatives aimed at providing guidance and assistance to farmers and ranchers for the correct preparation and submission of applications for the different lines of support funded by the EAGF and the EAFRD and integrated into the Single Application of 2026 are considered eligible for funding.
The final amount received by each entity will be determined based on the number of files they have advised and processed, once the activity is accredited, with a maximum limit of 30 euros per application.
To accredit the work done, the entities must submit, along with the grant application, a certificate signed by their representative in Cantabria stating the total number of registered applications, accompanied by the nominal list of the files processed for each of the lines of aid in which they have participated.
The deadline for submitting applications will be one month from the day after the publication of the extract of the call in the BOC. The requests must be addressed to the Minister of Rural Development, Livestock, Fishing, and Food and registered through the General Electronic Registry of the Administration of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria or through any of the electronic registries enabled by current regulations.
The granted subsidies will be paid by the deadline of December 31, 2026.
Facilitate processing for farmers and ranchers
In a press release, the counselor of the branch, María Jesús Susinos, has emphasized the relevance of these aids to support the advisory and collaboration work that agricultural organizations and cooperatives provide to professionals in the sector during the processing of the aids included in the Single Application corresponding to the call of 2026.
In this line, she has indicated that her department works to ensure that no professional in the sector is left without the aids that correspond to them due to the difficulties they may encounter in the processing process, counting for this on entities that "know firsthand the reality of the Cantabrian countryside and provide a close and specialized service."
For the counselor, simplifying and supporting the management of the CAP also means "facilitating the permanence of agricultural and livestock activity in the territory because these aids are fundamental for the economic viability of many farms."
With this new call, she has stated, the Government of Cantabria reaffirms its support for the entities that collaborate directly with farmers and ranchers in the management of the CAP and reinforces the support for the Cantabrian agricultural sector to ensure access to European funds aimed at maintaining and developing agricultural and livestock activity.