The Joint Ministerial Decision on disbursing covid aid to farmers- The products to be reimbursed

The transfer of credits from the Ministry of Finance, through the General Accounting Office, to the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, amounting to 31 million euros, was signed, for the support of the crops of table olives (excluding Kalamata olives), lavender, dried figs, of autumn and industrial potatoes, clementine tangerines and tobacco.

The European Commission last week approved the aid scheme for the above products.

It is noted that from the above, appropriations of 15 million euros for the compensation of table olives, lavender and dried figs, were transferred to the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in 2021, but were not spent within the year, as the approval by the Commission was still pending.

In the immediate future, based on the decision of the Commission and the above approval of the appropriations, the relevant Joint Ministerial Decisions are expected to be issued, in order to pay the relevant aid.

It is recalled that in the agricultural sector, a number of measures have been taken to address the increases in energy and raw materials, such as:

The permanent reduction of VAT on fodder, from 13% to 6%.
The permanent reduction of VAT on fertilizers, from 13% to 6%.
The return of the Special Tax on diesel fuel to farmers, for 2022.
Livestock support for feed price increases.

Also, through the repayable advance measure and other measures to address the financial impact of the health crisis, about 300 million euros have been allocated to support the primary sector, while an additional 162 million euros have been allocated from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Food, in the years 2020 and 2021, to support the sectors affected by the pandemic.