Adverse weather conditions in central and northern Portugal

Subject: Adverse weather conditions in central and northern Portugal

The hailstorms that have been sweeping central and northern Portugal in recent days have caused widespread damage to infrastructure and housing, as well as inflicting major losses on small winegrowers in the Dão and Douro and on numerous fruit farmers.

Reports have been coming in of rain, hail, high winds and thunderstorms wreaking havoc on farms, many of them family-run holdings, with orchards and vineyards being hit particularly hard.

The pandemic has already left farmers extremely vulnerable, unable to market their products easily and forced to sell at rock-bottom prices. Their livelihoods are now even more in the balance as a result of this recent trail of destruction.

In view of this:

1. Can the Commission say what extraordinary measures can be taken to assist the small farmers affected and salvage their holdings, once the true extent of the damage has been established?

2. Given the vital importance of agriculture to the local economy and the corresponding need to keep it afloat in these areas, what aid could be provided to put future production back on its feet?

Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (10 August 2021)

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the EU aid scheme for the fruit and vegetables sector under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) may be used to support the initiatives that Portugal may decide to launch to help the farmers affected by extreme weather conditions. This may include in particular measures for restoring agricultural potential and for compensating losses through risk management tools.

The Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020 for Mainland (Portugal) includes the support for investments for the restoration of agricultural land and production potential damaged by natural disasters, adverse climate events and catastrophic events. Moreover, a crop, animal and plant insurance premium measure is foreseen, which can provide support to farmers through insurance contracts. The possibility to implement an income stabilisation tool for farmers is also available under the rural development regulation but Portugal has decided not to implement such instrument. Similar crisis prevention and management measures are also available in the sectoral scheme for fruit and vegetables.

In addition, Portugal could apply for support from the European Solidarity Fund if the direct damages caused by the extreme weather conditions are in excess of the thresholds for national or regional disasters and the conditions provided by the Council Regulation (EC) 2012/2002 (1) are fulfilled (2). This Fund was set up to respond to major natural disasters and express European solidarity with disaster-stricken regions within Europe.

⋅1∙ OJ L 311, 14.11.2002.

⋅2∙ See for more details: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/solidarity-fund