Czech: The Ministry of Agriculture introduced a subsidy for the careful cultivation of early potatoes, the government agreed

The support amounts to 462 euros per hectare (roughly 11,600 crowns), and farmers can apply for it until May 15. The subsidy was introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and was approved by the government today. For growers, this is significant assistance amounting to hundreds of millions of crowns, the Czech Potato Association said in response to a question from ČTK.

The Ministry promises to expand the sustainable farming method to other areas of arable land after the subsidy is introduced. "Farmers who reduce the number of preparations against potato blight and late blight on potato fields will be able to apply for the subsidy," said Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL).

According to the association’s data, potatoes were grown on 28,911 hectares in the Czech Republic in 2024, an increase of 8.5 percent year-on-year. "One of the factors influencing potato growers’ decisions about planted areas is undoubtedly the possibility of using support, both from the EU and domestic support. Overall, this is significant assistance in the hundreds of millions of crowns," said the association’s chairman, Josef Králíček.

The association estimates the number of potato growers in the Czech Republic at around 500. Last year, they grew early consumption potatoes on 1,190 hectares, late consumption potatoes on 13,327 hectares, potatoes for starch production on 5,460 hectares, and seed potatoes on 2,770 hectares. Králíček expects the potato area to grow slightly this year as well.

The new subsidy is part of the agri-environmental-climate measures (AEKO), which are intended to support methods of using agricultural land in accordance with the protection and improvement of the environment and the landscape. According to the ministry, the total subsidy for AEKO is 3.76 billion crowns for this year. The EU and the Czech Republic have allocated 524.8 million crowns for the so-called Integrated Production, which in addition to potatoes also includes the integrated production of fruit, vines, vegetables and strawberries.

The ministry also eased the sanctions imposed for establishing agroforestry systems and expanded the list of tree species that farmers can grow in agroforestry systems. According to Výborný, the proposed changes were approved by the European Commission. Agroforestry combines the cultivation of tree species with the cultivation of agricultural crops or livestock on the same plot of land.

Among the changes is also an adjustment to the minimum area of ​​agricultural land that a farmer farms, which is intended to allow farmers farming smaller areas of fields to receive support for so-called biobelts.

Biobelts contribute to the diversity of the agricultural landscape and increase biodiversity, they are areas of undisturbed greenery that provide insects with shelters through which they can move. Previously, farmers who had at least two hectares of biobelts on their fields could participate in the measure, now the total number of biobelts on the cultivated fields can reach half a hectare. The resort has also adjusted the width of the biobelts, instead of the original six to 24 meters, they can now reach 30 meters.