Romanian farmers get over EUR 760 mln this year from Agricultural Payments Agency

Farmers in Romania received some EUR 769 million from the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture (APIA) since the beginning of this year, according to a statement of the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. For the entire year, APIA estimates total payments of EUR 2.5 billion. A total of EUR 560 million was given to payments related to the SAPS 2013 campaign, while for the Axis II, from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFD) and national budget co-financing, EUR 16.5 million was paid. For the National Complementary Direct Payments 1 and 6 (PNDC 1 and PNDC 6) over EUR 102 million was paid to 654,000 farmers. On payments for market measures, beneficiaries of the reconversion programs in the wine sector, fruits and milk in schools or groups of producers, received some EUR 3.3 million, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture. The programs for promoting agricultural products received some EUR 345,000, while some EUR 1.7 million represented aid for the most disadvantaged people in Romania (PEAD). As state aids, APIA paid EUR 76.6 million, representing the complementary national direct payment in the livestock sector, while some EUR 411,000 represented state aid in agriculture for the payment of insurance premiums. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com