The Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Affairs José Manuel Fernandes asked the European Commission to activate the European Union’s reserve fund, which aims at supporting farmers affected by the recent adverse weather events in Portugal.
The request is based on preliminary estimates that indicate losses of around 500 million euros in the agricultural sector, plus around 275 million euros of losses in the forestry sector, jeopardising the economic viability of farms in the most affected regions.
The Goverenment acknowledges the strong pressure on farmers and cautions that the situation remains unstable with adverse weather forecasts that could worsen the damage already felt and hinder the recovery efforts.
The European Union’s agricultural reserve fund enables a swift response to crises that affect agricultural production or distribution and has an annual allocation of 450 million euros under article 16 of EU Regulation 2021/2116.
Following the contacts held with the European Commission and a letter addressed to the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen, José Manuel Fernandes advocates a European response that is proportional to the scale of the crisis that shook Portugal.
