Vienna. The regulations for aid to farmers who are indirectly affected by the ordered closings, including the catering trade, are in place. The Ministry of Agriculture is making 60 million euros available for this. The aid is not processed through the federal corona aid agency, COFAG, but rather through the ministry, which has reallocated existing funds for its new aid for rural suppliers.
Like many other suppliers, farmers also suffer indirectly from the official closings of restaurants, among other things. The aid referred to as loss compensation can be applied for by all farmers from February 15, who can provide evidence of the corresponding losses. Requirements for the support are losses between October 2020 and March 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year. The loss must amount to at least 30 percent. 70 percent of the overall loss of income is granted as a non-repayable grant – up to a maximum of 100,000 euros. As before, the application is made via Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) for farmers' aid. There is a separate calculation model for wine growers.
“The aid should reach the farms affected as quickly, easily and directly as possible,” said Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) on Friday. (APA)