The Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment and the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture suggested changes to the law on the principles of subsidization. One of the proposals is to extend the age limit for young farmers from 35 to 40. It is expected that this will contribute to attracting more people willing to work in the agricultural sector. The method of paying subsidizes was reviewed in a move to encourage the priority subsidization areas, IPN reports.
Other amendments extend the powers of the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture, with emphasis being placed on decisional transparency, regulate the direct payments and specify the period when the new regulations take effect. The direct payments will be made per animal owned by the farmer as of 2020 and per unit of cultivated farmland as of 2021.
The changes also simplify the special eligibility criteria for applicants for subsides and reduce the number of documents that must be presented by these.
The bill with amendments was proposed for public debates.