DAF: 3.8 Million Hectares of Direct Payments Verified

The State Fund"Agriculture" (SF"A") announced the completion of cross-checks of applications for direct payments under Campaign 2025.

The scale of the check is impressive – 3,858,429 hectares declared by 62,808 applicants were analyzed, demonstrating the Fund"s serious commitment to transparency and efficiency in the allocation of funds.

The results of this thorough control revealed 742 hectares of double-declared areas, claimed by 1059 beneficiaries. This is a signal that requires careful analysis and possible revision of procedures to prevent similar cases in the future.

Information about the identified overlaps has been provided to each farmer individually. The data is available online, through the Electronic Services System (ESS) of the SF"A", in the "Information" section, "Geographic" subsection – "Double-declared areas". This is another example of the digitalization of processes in agriculture and the striving for more efficient and transparent management.

The SF"A_q_ emphasizes that, unlike previous years, farmers are not required to visit the regional directorates of the Fund to clarify their right to use the identified double-declared areas. The process is optimized using data on the registered legal basis provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, current for Campaign 2025. This shows optimization of administrative procedures and greater convenience for farmers.

The Fund further announced that it is now possible to withdraw parcels, animals, or interventions from submitted applications. However, this withdrawal must be carried out in accordance with Regulation No. 4 of March 30, 2023, on the conditions and procedure for submitting applications for area and animal support interventions. This is an important aspect, guaranteeing compliance with the rules and preventing potential abuses.

For comparison, in Campaign 2024, 3.873 million hectares were checked, declared by 52,302 applicants, with 675 hectares of double-declared areas identified, claimed by 802 beneficiaries. According to the statistics provided by BTA, this is the lowest level of overlaps since the introduction of direct payments as an instrument of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2007. This shows a trend towards reducing such problems, although the results of Campaign 2025 still show a need for further improvement of control mechanisms. A detailed analysis of the reasons for the identified overlaps is to be carried out in order to develop more effective preventive measures.