The Walloon Government, on the initiative of the Minister for Agriculture, Anne-Catherine Dalcq, has approved at first reading the rapid financial support scheme to help farmers whose holdings have been affected by bluetongue disease.
This scheme, worth €17.5 million, is the result of several weeks of intensive work and thorough consultation between the Minister for Agriculture, the Walloon administration and the farming unions. It aims to prevent certain farms from disappearing and to guarantee the continuity of the activities of the affected farmers.
Philosophy of the scheme
- For each farm, compensation is provided per dead animal and for the morbidity of the entire herd. The total amount of support will be capped at €15,000 to comply with the de minimis ceiling.
Eligibility criteria for the scheme
- Be an active farmer
- Be the keeper of a herd of at least 30 sheep or 10 cattle.
- Have a certificate from the Federal Food Safety Agency or a veterinary certificate accompanied by a scientific analysis to be kept on the farm
Amount of support
This support scheme comes on top of the progress already achieved at European level under the Common Agricultural Policy. Thanks to the intervention of Minister Dalcq and the Walloon administration, the European Commission has confirmed that farmers whose animals have been affected by bluetongue will indeed be taken into account under coupled support and the various measures that take livestock density into account.
The ceiling on advances on Common Agricultural Policy subsidies has also been raised. From mid-November, farmers received up to 70% of their direct payments in advance. Advance payments under the second pillar will also be increased, from 75% to 85%.
In addition, a request to increase the maximum amounts of coupled support for sheep and cattle is under way, and a request has been submitted to activate the European agricultural reserve.
“The situation our farmers went through was catastrophic, and the economic consequences will still be felt in the coming weeks. I wanted this support scheme to be simple and to reach farms quickly,” explains the Minister for Agriculture, Anne-Catherine Dalcq.
Monitoring the progress of the action plan put in place by the Minister for Agriculture
