The cattle and sheep farming sectors in our country are facing a particularly difficult situation due to the spread of bluetongue disease. According to the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), 15,000 cattle and 23,000 sheep had been affected by the disease as of September 2024. To help farmers cope with this difficult period, the Minister for Agriculture and the Self-Employed, David Clarinval, had already decided this summer to recognise these sectors as being in crisis. This allowed farmers whose herds were affected by bluetongue to benefit from payment facilities for their social contributions for the third quarter of 2024.
Today, Minister Clarinval is proposing to extend these payment facilities for the fourth quarter of 2024 for the cattle and sheep sector. In the coming days, a notice will be sent to the social insurance funds, formalising this recognition.
The minister's recognition of the cattle and sheep sectors as being in crisis will enable coordinated and simplified management of payment facility requests, thereby responding more effectively to farmers' needs regarding their social contributions for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Specifically, farmers facing difficulties due to bluetongue disease will be able to benefit from several payment facility options, such as:
- A one-year deferral of social contribution payments without loss of social rights or surcharges;
- Exemption from social contributions, through a simplified application, while maintaining social rights, but without the relevant quarter being counted towards their pension calculation;
- A reduction in the amount of provisional social contributions based on expected income for 2024.
David Clarinval: “The bluetongue crisis is having a considerable impact on our livestock farmers. It is essential that all measures be taken to help them get through this difficult period. By recognising these sectors as being in crisis for the last quarter of this year, we are simplifying the management of applications for deferral or exemption from social contributions. I will also swiftly present a proposal to my colleagues in the caretaker government to request additional funds to reimburse vaccination costs. I am therefore doing everything possible to help our livestock farmers get through this difficult period.”