The Polish government is preparing financial aid for farmers and companies affected by the war in Ukraine. An amendment to the Act on Support for Rural Development envisages emergency support for farmers and small businesses particularly affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Agriculture is the author of the draft amendment to the Act on Supporting Rural Development with the Funds of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the Rural Development Programme. The ministry estimates that around 50,000 farmers have suffered losses due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

With the launch of the measure ‘Extraordinary temporary support for farmers, micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises particularly affected by the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine’, farmers with agricultural activities whose farms have been most affected by this crisis will be able to receive financial support.

The proposed support will take the form of a one-off flat payment of up to €15,000. It will be paid to farmers based on an administrative decision, on the basis of an application for aid that is also an application for payment.

The Ministry of Agriculture explained in the explanatory memorandum that the law amendment proposes to include the new measure to the same extent that the law has included the measure ‘Exceptional temporary support for farmers, micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis’. The law under preparation is in line with European Union law and does not require notification.

The implementation of this measure is a response to the current situation of the above-mentioned subjects due to the war in Ukraine related to functioning in an unstable market, trade disruptions, increase in costs incurred and their impact on food prices.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński