Romanian government plans drought insurance scheme for farmers
BUCHAREST, Aug 28 (Reuters) -The Romanian government plans to approve an insurance system for agricultural land as part of a series of measures to help farmers whose crops have been ravaged by drought, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Wednesday.
Romania is among the European Union's largest grain sellers and an active exporter, with Egypt a main buyer, but prolonged heatwaves this summer have damaged millions of tons of crops.
"First, we have talked with banks and the financial regulator and we have agreed a formula for ... a mechanism to set up a drought insurance system for 7 million hectares of farmland, accounting for spring and fall crops," Barbu said.
"This mechanism ensures compensation of up to 3,000 lei ($671.14) per hectare, which will lead to unblocking lending for Romanian farmers."
He did not specify when the scheme would be approved or enforced.
Other measures he said the government would approve in the coming days include increasing state guarantees for farm loans, giving state compensation worth up to 1,000 lei ($223.71) per damaged hectare before fall crops are sown and freezing loan repayments until Dec. 2025 for farmers with damaged crops.
In July, Barbu said nearly 2 million hectares of maize and sunseed crops had so far been affected, a figure some analysts said was an underestimate.
"I don't resonate with the minister's estimates, the damage is more extensive," Cezar Gheorghe of Romanian grain market consultancy AGRIColumn told Reuters.
He also said measures such as freezing farmers' loan payments will impact input sellers and distributors.
Gheorghe estimated Romania's maize output will drop to 6.7 million metric tons this year, sharply lower than Argus and AgroBrane estimates of 7.5 million and 7.7 million, respectively.
He estimated sunflower seed crops would fall below 2 million metric tons in 2024, while the wheat crop stood at 9.6 million metric tons.
Romania's water management agency said just under 630 towns and villages had water restrictions in place. The Danube's level at its entry point in Romania was below the normal range at around 2,800 cubic metres of water per second, far below the August average of 4,300, causing disruption in river traffic.
($1 = 4.4700 lei)
Reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by Barbara Lewis
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
