Polski
Drought aid is the state’s response to the adverse effects of weather phenomena on farmers. The call for applications ended on March 15 of this year. According to the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, as much as PLN 445.6 million in support went to 58,000. farmers.
Drought aid – what is it?
From February 29 to March 15, the Agency for the Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture accepted applications from agricultural producers who applied for financial support as a result of 2023 weather damage. Damage caused by factors such as drought, torrential rain, flooding, spring frost, adverse winter effects, lightning, hurricane, landslide or avalanches or hail was compensated. We have already described the rates farmers could count on in a previous article in Water Matters.
The total amount of financial support awarded may not exceed 80 percent. the amount of income reduction from crop production. An exception is farms located in areas with natural limitations – there the amount of income reduction from average annual crop production can be 90 percent. All rates are regulated in accordance with Art. 25 para. 8 of Regulation 2022/2472 of the Commission of the European Union.
Drought aid – results so far
This is not the first such initiative in Poland. The previous call lasted until October 30, 2023. At that time, farmers could apply for funding if their farms suffered damage from spring frost, hail or hurricane 2023. Losses may have affected crops of fruit trees and strawberries. Such compensation was due to farmers who lost between 30 and 70 percent during this period. agricultural crops.
A total of more than 133,000 were registered under the Drought Aid 2023 program. applications. As of the end of March, farmers had received PLN 41 million. At this point, according to the ARMA, the amount of subsidies has increased to PLN 445.6 million. The agency will update the data as more disbursements are made.
Climate change and its impact on agriculture in 2023
The agricultural industry in recent years has been exposed to many adverse factors and phenomena, mainly due to weather conditions. As a result, damage to farms continues to increase. All this is due to the increasingly worrisome consequences of global warming, which is associated with increasing natural disasters and weather anomalies.
According to IMGW-PIB, in 2023, Poland’s area average air temperature was 10.0°C, which exceeded the annual multi-year average (1991-2020 period) by 1.3°C. The year was the second warmest in Poland since 1951, just after 2019, which was 0.2°C warmer and the hottest in the history of measurements. The anomaly index continues to climb. This was also the case last year. This can also be seen in the cumulative precipitation, which exceeded multi-year averages and was accompanied by unusually high temperatures. These are extreme differences that affect agriculture and generate damage to crops.
Projections for 2024 and future drought aid rates for farmers
The year 2024 did not start optimistically for farm owners. February recorded record high temperatures in many areas around the world. According to the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute, more meteorological records were set in Poland on February 28. The average air temperature anomaly was as much as +6°C over the average of the last 30 years of measurements. February in 2021. recorded a temperature of 22.1°C, a record for the month over the past 30 years.
The same is true of March, which turned out to be extremely warm. The highest recorded temperature occurred in Tarnow on March 30 and was 25.5°C. This should come as no surprise, given that this year’s March was the warmest in Poland since at least 1951. Even more alarming is the fact that the past March is the tenth consecutive warmest month in the history of meteorological measurements.
The latest experimental long-term forecasts leave no illusions – the climate will continue to warm, and there are more anomalies ahead. One of the latest forecasts predicts that both June, July and August will record new atmospheric records, with average air temperatures consistently above normal. Farmers face further challenges, as losses in their industry will continue to be severe, and there is no expectation that the situation will improve in the coming years. That’s why it’s important that drought relief still works, and that the state supports activities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
