The State Fund for Agriculture has paid €18,768,270 in advance payments to 10,098 farmers who grow fruit and vegetables, the fund said. This is the first time an advance on this aid has been paid in the same year farmers applied for it.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food said on 23 October that the fund would pay out the money by 10 November, as set out in its planned schedule of payments to the end of the year.

The previous development: Fruit and vegetable farmers to get 50% of 2026 aid in advance

The money went to farmers who declared land with fruit, vegetables or greenhouse vegetables that qualifies for an advance. The advance is half of the planned flat rate for the 2026 campaign under each of the nine interventions. These are nine separate types of aid in the Strategic Plan for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas 2023-2027.

The ministry links the advance to the crisis in the Middle East. It says the crisis puts farmers at risk of running out of liquid funds, meaning cash. The advance should give them financial stability and money for farm work, so production does not stop.

The payment is allowed under Regulation (EU) 2026/1768 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2026, which amends Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

The rest of the money will come with the final payment, by 30 June 2027 at the latest, after the checks the law requires. By the end of January 2027, applicants must submit documents showing how much of their 2026 harvest they sold on the market, by crop. They must also provide documents for the certified and/or standard seeds and/or planting material they used.

Money paid in error must be returned, including by deducting it from a later payment within the same period.