APIA authorizes payment of over 92pct of eligible farmers; total sum exceeds 2bn euros

The Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture (APIA) has authorized the payment of over 92pct of the number of eligible farmers of the 2019 Campaign for single payment applications, with a total amount of 2.115 billion euros, informs the institution on Tuesday. According to an APIA press release issued for AGERPRES, of the total amount, approximately 1.65 billion euros come from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), 338.72 million euros from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), 67.35 million of euros from BN1 (co-financing from the National Budget), and 59.05 million euros from the National Budget. At the same time, as of January 21, 2020, the payments related to the Transitional National Aid for vegetables and animal husbandry were started, at the currency exchange rate of 4.7496 lei to one euro, established by the European Central Bank on September 30, 2019 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C329/03 of October 1, 2019. The aid granted to farmers from the national budget for crops located on arable land was set at 13.3202 euros / hectare, the total ceiling allocated to this aid - Transitional National Aid (ANT1) - being of about 93,832 million euros. The largest amount in the vegetable sector is granted to tobacco crops - ANT4 - 1,569 euros / ha, followed by hops - ANT5 - 400.26 euros / ha, sugar beet - ANT6 - 73.82 euros / ha, and to hemp crops for fiber (ANT 3) is allocated about 8.96 euros / ha. In the zootechnical sector, for ANT 8 - decoupled from production scheme, bovine species - meat sector, the amount is 69.11 euros / head, for ANT7 - decoupled production scheme, bovine species - milk sector, 17.72 euro / ton , and for ANT 9 - coupled production scheme, sheep / goat species - 4,716 euros / head. The total ceiling in the livestock sector is 162,522 million euros. AGERPRES (RO - author: Andreea Marinescu, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)