The Minister of Agriculture, José Manuel Fernandes, announced on the sidelines of the InnovMilho 2026 Field Day, in Coruche, that the extraordinary support of 30 million euros authorized by the European Commission for farmers and fishermen has already been fully paid. This support was intended to compensate the sector for the increase in energy and fertilizer costs, and was paid even before the European decision was published, which the minister considered to demonstrate "a brutal speed" in the implementation of the measure.
The European Commission approved a Portuguese state aid scheme of 30 million euros directed at companies in the agricultural, fisheries, and aquaculture sectors, due to the economic impacts of the Middle East crisis. This scheme provides support in the form of direct subsidies, up to a maximum limit of 50 thousand euros per company, to compensate for the increases in fuel and fertilizer costs. In August, 20 million euros were paid for fertilizers and 10 million euros for agricultural diesel, although the latter fell slightly below forecast due to the number of applications.
The National Agricultural Commission (CNA) had criticized the Government on Tuesday, accusing it of "making million-euro announcements" while many farmers continue to face difficulties. José Manuel Fernandes rejected the accusation, stating that "we have not made announcements, we have paid", and clarified that by August, 809 million euros had been paid to farmers, representing an increase of 39% compared to the same period the previous year.
The executive intends to reinforce support for fertilizers. José Manuel Fernandes stated that there is already a support of 20 million euros and that another 20 million euros are being created, while still working on a third tranche of another 20 million euros. If it is possible to concretize this third installment, the total amount of support for fertilizers will rise to 60 million euros, which, according to the minister, will allow Portugal to reach a level of support "equal to that of Spain or even higher".
