Portugal announces financial aid to farmers

Lisbon, Portugal | Xinhua | The Portuguese government on Saturday announced several financial aid packages to the agricultural sector to mitigate the losses resulting from adverse weather conditions and the consequences of the Ukraine crisis.

Agriculture Minister Maria do Ceu Antunes said 500,000 euros (515,000 U.S. dollars) will be distributed directly to farmers affected by the fires of recent weeks, 27 million euros (27.8 million U.S. dollars) to the animal protein production sectors and 57 million euros (58.7 million U.S. dollars) to other sectors including horticulture, cattle and crops.

Portugal’s agricultural sector has suffered a lot from this summer’s heat wave, drought and forest fires as well as input price inflation and supply shortages of grains used for animal feed due to supply chain disruptions caused by the Ukraine crisis Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed on Russia. ■