European Union announces €540 million in aid to curb rising fertilizer prices.

This Thursday (11), the European Commission announced a package of measures to support farmers affected by strong rise in fertilizer prices and reinforce the European Union food securityAmong the actions is the initial mobilization of €540 million in financial support, an amount that could reach €1.5 billion with the participation of member states, which will be authorized to supplement the resources with up to 200% national funding. The initiative is part of Action Plan for Fertilizers presented by European Commission in May of this year and arises in response to pressures caused by geopolitical tensions and disruptions in supply chains, factors that have significantly increased the costs of agricultural inputs on the continent. Of the total announced, €300 million additional should be incorporated into European Union (EU) agricultural reserve starting from 2026 budgetAccording to CommissionThe funds will be allocated to producers who need to acquire them. fertilizers to guarantee the next harvest and maintain agricultural production levels. In addition to financial supportThe bloc proposed specific adjustments to… Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to expand the response capacity of national governments. Among the measures is the creation of a new mechanism liquidity for crisis situationsThe possibility of advancing direct payments to farmers and greater flexibility for countries to adjust their budgets to support the sector in 2027. The Commission reported that the new liquidity mechanism could be financed up to 65% by… European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)in addition to having complementary national resources. The legislative proposals will be analyzed by European Parliament and by EU CouncilIf approved by the Member States, the final adoption of the financial support measures is scheduled for the end of July 2026. The Commission states that it will continue to implement actions to… strengthen domestic fertilizer production, reduce dependence on imports and to increase the resilience of the European agricultural sector in the face of future crises.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.