The Ministry of Agriculture (MZe) is ready to activate a program to solve risks and crises in agriculture for all affected growers, and the material for this purpose is to be submitted to the government on Tuesday.
The minister emphasized that fruit growers will be a priority, focusing especially on those who have suffered damage exceeding 50 percent. In addition, the Agrarian Chamber requests financial assistance for vegetable and potato growers due to frost.
The worst fruit harvest since the 1990s was recorded in 2011, when it amounted to 101,249 tons. The program for solving risks and crises in agriculture has been activated three times so far – in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Minister Výborný stated that it is not yet clear how much money will be available to growers as part of the program, but the ambition is in the range of 70 to 100 million crowns. The MZe is also working on an application for support from the European Union.
Night frosts also damaged cereals, fodder, poppies and flowering rapeseed. Similar frosts also affected neighboring countries – Germany, where Saxony and Brandenburg were particularly affected, and Slovakia, where estimates show that the damage amounts to approximately 30 percent of the harvest.
Tags: Freezing weather decimated harvest Czech Republic experience worst fruit harvest history
