The Official State Gazette (BOE) published this Saturday, March 21, an Order269/2020 from the Ministry of Agriculture, extending the deadline for submitting the Single Application for direct payments to agriculture and livestock throughout Spain, in principle, until May 15.
This period began on 1 February and was scheduled to end on 30 April. However, with the publication of the RD, which has declared a “state of alert” for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, restrictions on the movement of persons are making the process of submitting this application more difficult.
In order to make it easier for farmers and stockbreeders to submit their Single Application for the PAC under the current circumstances, the MAPA has decided to extend the submission period by 15 days. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, this is a measure that “will give greater peace of mind to the beneficiaries of the PAC”, while waiting for the European Commission to develop, at the request of Spain and other countries, the Community regulation that will extend it until 15 June.
Once this regulation is published, the necessary measures will be taken in Spain to extend the deadline until that date depending on the evolution of the “state of alert”.
The Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA), together with the Autonomous Communities, is promoting the processes of telematic presentation of the Single Application and is promoting alternatives to take advantage of technological mechanisms so that its presentation and management can be carried out normally, despite the restriction on travel.
The telematic presentation of the application can be made either directly by the beneficiary or through collaborating entities.
The competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities will provide the necessary instructions. Thus, by means of telephone appointments or any other means of communication established by each Autonomous Region, beneficiaries will be assisted and advised by agricultural organisations, financial institutions, regional offices, etc., in order to complete the application in good time.
The MAPA states that the necessary measures will be taken to make this telematic capture process as flexible as possible, although there are alternatives for making subsequent changes.
If all the required data cannot be completed, they may be completed or corrected later. This will ensure that the applications have all the necessary information for the management and payment processes to be carried out normally.
With all these mechanisms, the Government seeks to ensure that all farmers and stockbreeders in Spain can submit their single application for PAC 2020 aid without any problems and that the process begins so that the future collection of this aid takes place within the usual deadlines, i.e. from 16 October this year.
Source: Agronegocios
