Recently, we have been dealing with unfavorable meteorological phenomena (storms, storms, heavy rains, high temperatures). Therefore, farmers applying for direct and area payments who have suffered crop or animal losses as a result of harmful weather conditions may report cases of force majeure to ARiMR.
The Agency reminds that declarations of force majeure on the farm, with a legible signature and date of submission, together with documents confirming the occurrence of extraordinary circumstances, should be submitted to the ARiMR district office immediately after the event. Evidence in this case may include testimonies of witnesses, expert opinions, inspection reports, e.g. a report on the assessment of damage to agricultural crops prepared by a commission appointed by the voivode competent for the place where the damage occurred.
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You can now submit applications for loss estimation in the Report agricultural damage application!
It is important to provide the necessary documentation regarding the occurrence of force majeure by the date of issuance of the decision on granting direct subsidies or other area payments for 2024. If the evidence presented is accepted by the head of the district office, the right to obtain payments for agricultural land or animals affected by force majeure and which met the eligibility conditions on the date of occurrence of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances will be retained.
– Agency employees will make every effort to guide injured farmers through all formalities – assures ARiMR.
What is force majeure?
The concept of force majeure refers to extraordinary and unpredictable circumstances, beyond the farmer's control, the consequences of which could not be avoided despite the exercise of due diligence.
Cases of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances include in particular:
- death of the beneficiary;
- long-term incapacity of the beneficiary to practice his/her profession;
- a serious natural disaster causing major damage to the farm;
- destruction of livestock buildings on a farm as a result of an accident;
- an epizootic or plant disease or the presence of a pest affecting, respectively, all or part of the beneficiary's livestock or crops;
- expropriation of the entire or a large part of the farm, if such expropriation could not be foreseen on the day of submitting the application.
The above event directory is an open directory. This means that the head of the district office, taking into account the circumstances of the event and the evidence presented, may, as a result of an individual consideration of a given case, determine that a given event was the result of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances.
An extraordinary circumstance may include:
- destruction of crops by wild animals,
- destruction of crops as a result of unfavorable weather conditions such as drought, hailstorm, flood, frost, lightning, landslides, flooding due to precipitation,
- destruction of crops or agricultural produce caused by fire (except in cases resulting from intentional burning),
- occurrence of quarantine organisms,
- temporary arrest of the beneficiary,
- biting of animals declared for payment by wild animals, if the farmer can prove that the animals were protected from wild animals, i.e. they were, for example, grazed in a fenced area protected from access by wild animals.
A case of biting an animal registered for payment, grazing in an area where wild animals are found, cannot be considered force majeure. In such circumstances, the death of an animal as a result of an attack by a wild animal is probable and therefore predictable and is not an extraordinary situation.
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Higher third party liability insurance for farmers. The decision was made
What can be evidence of force majeure?
Examples of evidence confirming force majeure or extraordinary circumstances include:
- protocol for assessing damage to agricultural crops caused by drought, hail, torrential rain, negative effects of wintering, spring frosts, flood, hurricane, lightning, landslide or avalanche within the meaning of the provisions on insurance of agricultural crops and farm animals, prepared by the commission appointed by the voivode competent for the place where the damage occurred, referred to in the provisions on the implementation of certain tasks of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture;
- a document confirming the occurrence of damage to agricultural crops, showing the area of crops that suffered damage caused by drought, hail, torrential rain, negative effects of wintering, spring frosts, flood, hurricane, lightning, landslide or avalanche within the meaning of insurance regulations agricultural crops and livestock, prepared by the insurance company with which the farmer concluded a crop insurance contract against at least one of these risks;
- written statements confirming the occurrence of damage to agricultural crops caused by drought, hail, torrential rain, negative effects of wintering, spring frosts, flood, hurricane, lightning, landslide or avalanche within the meaning of the provisions on insurance of agricultural crops and farm animals, prepared by two witnesses who are not members of the farmer's household within the meaning of the provisions on farmers' social insurance – if the commission appointed by the voivode competent for the place where the damage occurred, referred to in the provisions on the implementation of certain tasks of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, has not been appointed and the crops were not covered by the insurance contract;
certificate of fire occurrence – in the case of damage to crops or agricultural products caused by fire – issued by the district (municipal) commander of the State Fire Service competent for the place of the event, if fire protection units participated in the event; - a written statement about the occurrence of a flood/inundation/hurricane prepared by the farmer and confirmed by two witnesses who are not members of the farmer's household within the meaning of the provisions on farmers' social insurance. (A household member – within the meaning of the provisions of the Act of December 20, 1990 on social insurance for farmers (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 90) – is a person close to the farmer who: is over 16 years of age; remains in the same household with the farmer or lives on his farm or in its close vicinity, constantly works on this farm and is not bound by an employment relationship with the farmer.)
- a written declaration by the farmer about the location of the farm in the area where a state of natural disaster has been introduced pursuant to the provisions on the state of natural disaster;
- a decision of the competent construction supervision authority, issued on the basis of the provisions of the construction law, specifying the scope and deadline for carrying out the necessary works to clean up the disaster area and secure the building used for agricultural purposes until the works bringing the building to the proper condition are carried out;
- decision of the competent provincial inspector of plant protection and seed production, issued on the basis of plant protection regulations, ordering the destruction of plants, plant products or objects in the event of the occurrence or suspicion of the occurrence of quarantine organisms;
- decision of the competent district veterinarian, issued on the basis of the provisions on the protection of animal health and combating infectious animal diseases, ordering the killing or slaughter of sick or infected animals, suspected of infection or an epizootic disease, or animals of animal species sensitive to a given epizootic disease;
- a report on the inspection or final assessment of damage to crops and agricultural produce caused by wild animals, e.g. wild boars, moose, deer, fallow deer and roe deer, prepared by an authorized representative of the lessee or manager of the hunting district or other entities authorized to estimate hunting damage under the provisions of the hunting law;
- a report of inspection and assessment of damage caused by wild animals, e.g. bison bears, beavers in agricultural crops, prepared by the regional director of environmental protection, and in the area of a national park, by the director of this park, in accordance with the provisions of the Nature Protection Act;
- a shortened copy of the farmer's death certificate;
- certificate of temporary incapacity for work on a farm, issued on the basis of the provisions on social insurance for farmers;
- a copy of the court's decision to apply or extend pre-trial detention;
- a court summons to serve a sentence of imprisonment or arrest.
If, by the date of issuing the decision, the farmer has provided evidence confirming the occurrence of force majeure or the occurrence of extraordinary circumstances and they are recognized by the BP Manager as constituting the basis for recognizing the occurrence of force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, the farmer retains the right to obtain payment for agricultural land or animals affected by the action. force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, provided that the land or animals met the eligibility conditions on the date the force majeure or extraordinary circumstances occurred. If the land/animal did not meet the eligibility conditions on the date of submitting the payment application, it does not qualify for aid due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances.
In the case of production-related payments to animals, force majeure or extraordinary circumstances only include the death of an animal during the period of detention due to an epizootic disease or, conditionally, the animal being bitten by wild animals.
In the event that a farmer, due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, cannot fulfill the obligations arising from the standards and requirements of conditionality that are affected by force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, he shall not be subject to administrative penalties for non-compliance. Force majeure or extraordinary circumstances must be directly related to the failure to meet a given requirement or standard.
If the application was submitted within the "sanction" deadline, i.e. from July 2 to July 26, 2024 due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, the payment reduction by 1% for each business day will not be applied.
If a change to the application was submitted within the "sanction" deadline, i.e. from July 17 to July 26, 2024 due to force majeure or extraordinary circumstances, the 1% reduction for each business day will not be applied.
Source: ARiMR
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