The European Commission has introduced a series of new measures aimed at supporting farmers tackling drought across the continent.
A heatwave that spread across Europe this summer caused severe droughts in many European countries, which has created significant challenges for farmers by threatening food crops and animal feed. The European Commission has provided ongoing support to farmers tackling drought, and has announced a series of new measures today to protect livestock and reinforce the livelihoods of farmers through the challenges they are facing.
The new approach will provide flexibility to farmers struggling with fodder resources, to ensure they can provide sufficient feed to their animals, and the Commission is pursuing a number of potential options to further alleviate the burden farmers are facing.
What further steps could the European Commission take?
The Commission is exploring the possibility of considering winter crops – which are normally sown in autumn for harvesting or grazing – as catch crops if they are intended for grazing or fodder production, which is prohibited under current rules. It is also debating whether to shorten the 8-week minimum period for catch crops, to allow farmers to cow winter crops in a timely manner.
The proposals will support the EU’s previous efforts, including providing higher advanced payments and making these available in October, rather than December, to improve the cash flow situation for European farmers facing challenges.
European Commissioner for Agriculture, Phil Hogan, presented the proposal with an assurance that efforts are ongoing to evaluate and address the continuing challenges that some are facing. He said: “The Commission reacted swiftly to the first signals of these extreme climatic events and I keep following the situation closely. I am in contact with ministers from affected Member States as we are assessing the adequacy of the actions already in place. We are today taking additional action which I believe should provide relief to European farmers against the shortage of feed for animals.”
