Romanian scheme of 453 mln RON for support of livestock breeders, approved by the EC

The European Commission approved, on Tuesday, a Romanian scheme worth 91 million euros (453 million RON) to support cattle, pigs and poultry breeders in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, informs a press release of the European Commission.

The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework. Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants. The measure is intended to address the liquidity problems facing livestock breeders and to offset some of the losses suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictive measures that the Romanian authorities have had to implement to limit the spread of the virus. The scheme will be open to all companies active in the bovine, porcine and poultry farming sectors.

Last week, the Minister of Agriculture, Adrian Chesnoiu, announced that over 95,000 animal breeders will benefit from a financial support of about 454 million RON to set off part of the losses they registered in the last two years, caused by the sanitary restrictions and disruption of supply chains.

"We support livestock farmers by providing state aid to compensate for and offset some of the losses that farmers have suffered in the last two years due to health restrictions and the disruption of supply chains. By providing this support worth almost 454 million RON, in addition to the other support programs for the livestock sector, we offer farmers the help they need to carry out their activity in normal conditions," said Chesnoiu, according to a press release of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sent to AGERPRES.

The Government Ordinance on the establishment of a state aid scheme to support the activity of cattle, pig and poultry breeders in the context of the economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic was adopted last Thursday by the Government. The maximum total value of the state aid scheme is 453.899 million RON and is distributed as follows: 170.250 million RON for the cattle sector, 167.649 million RON for the pig sector and 116 million RON for the poultry sector.

The payment of the state aid is to be carried out until June 30, 2022.AGERPRES