What to do for farmers whose flood-damaged agricultural areas are not located in the emergency area

Farmers whose agricultural areas were affected by floods are not located in the emergency area, will not receive compensation for flood damage. These farms will be subject to derogations when administering direct payments and Rural Development Programme measures. In such cases, a free-form application for flood damage should be submitted to RSS regional administration.

The Latvian State Revenue Service, when evaluating the implementation of projects implemented by farmers, provided assistance to farmers affected by the floods outside the emergency areas:

administering direct payments,
– taking into account the fact that it takes longer time and resources to manage the areas, do not apply the condition regarding the time limit – to mow and harvest perennial grasses, mow the rows of perennial plantings, and clear fallow areas;
– not to apply minimum yield requirements for receiving coupled support for certified (grass, cereal, potato) seeds and starch potatoes;
– damage caused by floods to drainage systems should not be considered a violation of cross-compliance requirements and penalties should not be applied;

in turn, administering the Rural Development Programme measures upon application by the beneficiary,
– determine the fulfillment of requirements related to the implementation of the project no later than September 30, 2018 (project initiation, establishment of a merchant, proof of financial means, submission of construction and procurement documents);
– extend the project implementation deadlines by one year;
– determine the performance of the achievable indicators by the end of the monitoring period, but not lower than that specified in the regulatory enactments, allowing a tolerance in the performance of 10%.