The new draft royal decree establishing compensatory aid for sheep and goat farmers has been sent today to the autonomous communities and affected sectors and includes the contributions made by them, after the consultation process started on 3 April.
The objective is to help these ranchers due to the difficulties in marketing lambs during the months of March and April, after the declaration of the state of alarm, which has led to the closure of the feeding channel outside the home and which has also coincided with the departure seasonal lambs at Easter.
The project was also the subject of debate at the meeting held by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, with the regional councilors and advisers of the sector on April 8.
After the meeting, the decision was made to make it easier for aid to reach affected farmers, and to simplify its procedure.
Initially, it was planned to process the aid through a payment for non-commercial lamb. For reasons of administrative simplification and in response to requests received from the autonomous communities, this subsidy has been modified into a payment per eligible sheep and goat that the farmer will additionally charge in his Common Agricultural Policy (PAC) grants, through the associated payments.
In this way, the farmers do not have to do any additional management, since they will automatically receive this compensation associated with their PAC application and that they present every year.
The draft royal decree allows the autonomous communities to increase the financing provided by the Ministry with their own funds.
The premium associated with sheep and goat cattle represents an annual income for the sector of about 168 million euros, to which must be added the 10 million euros provided for in this draft royal decree plus the contribution that the autonomous communities can make.
The payment of the premium associated with sheep and goats may be made, in advance, from October 16 next. As requested by Spain, this advance may be up to 70% of the amount of the aid and may already include this additional payment, plus what the autonomous communities contribute.
This measure is complementary to the other measures that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the autonomous communities have been requesting for the sheep and goat sector and which have been transferred to the European Commission.
