Will there be a resumption of the Locha Plus program?

Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development provided assistance for farmers, food producers and pig breeders in the form of a subsidy for each piglet born between March and August 2023. The amount of the subsidy was set at PLN 100, and applications had to be submitted to ARiMR. The time to submit the application was only 2 weeks and was scheduled for September.

Farmers did not have time to submit their applications

As MP Grzyb emphasizes in his interpellation, the intensity of field work is very high this month.

– Haymaking, corn and potatoes were being harvested, so due to the increased amount of field work, farmers were only 1 day late in submitting their applications. Information about the deadline for submitting applications was not widely distributed or appeared after the deadline.

Additionally, a large number of farmers did not submit the application after the deadline because they received information from ARiMR that applications submitted after the deadline will not be taken into account, even though the farmer met all other criteria for receiving aid, including the most important one, i.e. production of piglets in a closed cycle, which was the main idea of ​​this assistance. Due to the above, the number of people entitled to receive support who did not submit applications on time is much larger, and as a result, it will contribute to further reduction of the population in Poland and greater dependence of the food sector on external markets – notes MP Grzyb.

And adds:

– The current situation of pig breeders also supports the resumption of the deadline. The price of livestock has dropped by almost half compared to 2-3 months ago – from an average of PLN 8.80 per kilogram of livestock to the current PLN 5.70 – and is still falling. On all agricultural sites, prices are expected to continue falling, reaching PLN 4 per kilogram. The situation at the moment is dramatic. Unfortunately, if the situation does not improve and continues, farmers will be forced to liquidate their farms.

Andrzej Grzyb asked the Minister of Agriculture, among others: whether it plans to set an additional deadline for submitting applications to ARiMR and plans additional aid for farmers, food producers and pig breeders?

When there is money, there will be a new Locha Plus program

– The decision on the resumption of the Locha Plus aid program for pig producers will be made after allocating funds in the state budget to finance it – we read in the response given to the MP by Deputy Minister Stefan Krajewski.

And that’s it for the resumption of the Locha Plus program.

Deputy Minister Krajewski writes more about other forms of support that pig producers can apply for.

And yes, it’s about:

– interest subsidies on loans to maintain financial liquidity (UP line)

Loans are granted by banks cooperating with ARiMR until June 30, 2024. The loan may be granted to settle financial obligations related to running agricultural activities on a farm and for agricultural producers to incur current expenses contributing to the improvement of financial liquidity.

The amount of loans granted to an agricultural producer may not exceed:

• PLN 100,000 – when the agricultural producer runs a farm within the meaning of the provisions on agricultural tax with an area of ​​no more than 50 ha of agricultural land;
• PLN 200,000 – when the agricultural producer runs a farm within the meaning of the provisions on agricultural tax with an area exceeding 50 ha and not more than 100 ha of agricultural land;
• PLN 400,000 – when an agricultural producer runs a farm within the meaning of the agricultural tax regulations with an area of ​​more than 100 ha of agricultural land. The interest rate payable to the bank and paid by the borrower is 2%;

– subsidies to loan interest rates, including: for investments in farms and special sectors of agricultural production.

The loan amount cannot exceed:

• 80% of the value of investment outlays and amount to more than PLN 5 million in the case of investments carried out on a farm,
• 70% of the value of investment outlays and amount to more than PLN 8 million in the case of investments carried out in a special section of agricultural production.

The interest rate on the loan for the investment is variable and cannot be higher than the WIBOR 3M reference rate increased by no more than 2.5 percentage points. The interest due to the bank is paid by the borrower in the amount of 0.67 of the interest rate paid to the bank, but not less than 3%, and the Agency – in the remaining part;

– refund of part of the expenses incurred for biosecurity activities.

Aid is granted to reimburse expenses incurred for:

• purchase of disinfection mats;
• purchase of equipment for disinfection, disinfestation or rodent control treatments as well as biocidal products, disinfestants or rodent control agents;
• purchase of protective clothing and safety shoes;
• securing buildings where pigs are kept against access by pets;
• reconstruction or renovation of rooms in order to keep pigs on the farm in separate, closed rooms with separate entrances and without direct passage to other rooms where other ungulates are kept – in the case of a farm where on average no more than 50 pigs are kept per year ( added in 2022).

The aid is de minimis aid in agriculture.

The deadline for submitting applications in a given calendar year is announced by the minister responsible for agriculture on the website of the office supporting this minister no later than 14 days before the deadline for submitting these applications.

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