Slovakia to Pay €26 Million Green Diesel Aid to Farmers

Slovakia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will pay farmers in special plant and animal production at least €26 million under the so-called green diesel scheme, a mineral oil tax refund, agriculture minister Richard Takáč announced at a press conference on September 29.¹²³⁵

Application window and rules

Takáč said the call for applications would open at midnight on September 30 and close on October 14, giving farmers a two-week window to apply. "Žiadosti bude možné podávať už od zajtrajšej polnoci, keď výzva formálne vstúpi do platnosti. Uzavretie výzvy je 14. októbra, takže na podanie žiadosti budú mať poľnohospodári iba dvojtýždňové obdobie. Maximálna výška pomoci je 100-tisíc eur," he said.¹³⁵²

Applications must be submitted exclusively through the electronic ITMS2014+ system; paper submissions will not be accepted, the ministry said. Farmers with questions can contact the ministry at zelenanafta@apa.sk.³⁵⁴

Eligible applicants include natural or legal persons operating in agricultural production, spanning micro, small, medium and large enterprises, according to Takáč. "Oprávnenými žiadateľmi sú fyzické alebo právnické osoby podnikajúce v poľnohospodárskej výrobe, mikropodnik, malý, stredný a veľký podnik," he said.³⁵²

Cap on aid

The maximum subsidy per applicant is set at €100,000. According to Takáč, of the 3,155 applicants recorded in the previous year, the cap would affect only 1 percent, or 32 entities. "Z celkového počtu 3155 žiadateľov limit 100-tisíc eur ovplyvní iba jedno percento z nich. Je to 32 subjektov," he said. The figure of 3,155 previous applicants was reported by Hospodárske noviny and STVR, though not corroborated by TASR or ta3 as an independently confirmed figure.³¹⁵²

Coverage of crops and livestock

The scheme covers special plant production comprising 201 specific crops, including legumes, vegetables, root crops, oilseeds, fibre plants, fruit, herbs and medicinal plants such as mint and lemon balm. Special animal production covers 17 livestock categories, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, poultry and bees.³¹⁵²