The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has indicated this Thursday that he trusts that throughout this month of April the first direct aid payments will begin to be made, aimed at compensating for the damages caused by the recent series of storms in Andalusia and Extremadura, highlighting "the positive response" from potential affected parties during the first 48 hours since the opening of the procedure.
During a media briefing in Aracena (Huelva), Planas has specified that from last Tuesday until April 27, the Government keeps open the deadline for "the first list of potential beneficiaries, about 140,500 people, to avail themselves of the aid". Likewise, he has highlighted that the Executive has foreseen a total amount of 2,874 million euros, "of which 2,124 refer to direct aid".
In this regard, he/she has insisted that a "very positive response" is being registered in these first days, as it is an agile system in which "no documentation has to be processed, but simply a list of beneficiaries is published by the Ministry which is the result of the available data" and "one simply has to press a button if one recognizes that they are indeed in this damage situation."
"It is a great effort also from the point of view of execution and we hope in these coming weeks, in this same month, to be able to get those aids to the beneficiaries", added the head of Agriculture.
Planas has also stressed that another "very important" part of this package is aimed at financing "that dedicated to all works that have to be carried out in terms of both rural roads as well as irrigation and restoration". He recalled that, although "it is not a direct competence of the Government of Spain, but we have wanted to assume it to respond to the sector's own request".
In relation to these actions, it has indicated that the Government sub-delegations have a deadline until April 15 to collect information about the interventions that "municipalities in particular and also the irrigation communities or businessmen request" in order to be able to execute them.
Aids for the impact of the war in the Middle East
Planas has also referred to the aid package approved by the Executive, endowed with 877 million euros, to face the economic consequences derived from the war in the Middle East, of which "500 million euros destined for aid to the agricultural sector in relation to the increase in fertilizer prices".
It has detailed that it is a "very important" aid, set at 22 euros per hectare for dryland and 55 euros per hectare for irrigated land, to which additional support for professional diesel is added for both farmers and the fishing sector.
Planas has acknowledged that "the truth is that we are at a very complex moment. On the one hand, due to climatic reasons, although they have also had their positive side, since water reserves are the most important we have had in the last decade in Andalusia. But, on the other hand, we are subject to great price volatility. Nevertheless, the Government of Spain shows its willingness to provide support to the sector, taking into account that the expenses derived from production and transport have increased significantly, with which we intend to compensate ourselves and help the sector itself in this part," he concluded.