State Regions Conference, green light to reshape the allotment between regions for damage caused by freezing 2020 and the decrees on the storage of quality wines and assignment of the contribution from the National Solidarity Fund for fisheries and aquaculture.
Green light in the State-Regions Conference for the distribution plan between the Regions of 20 million euros for compensatory interventions for the damage caused to the agricultural sector by the frosts in the period from 24 March to 3 April 2020 and to two decrees under the competence of Mipaaf and signed by Minister of Agricultural Policies, Stefano Patuanelli, particularly expected by the agri-food and fisheries sector: the storage of quality wines and the definition for 2021 and subsequent years, of the priority criteria for assigning the compensatory contribution from the Fund of national solidarity of fisheries and aquaculture.
With regard to the funds intended for the compensation of the damage caused to the agricultural sector by the 2020 frosts, on the proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture, a new and more objective criterion for the allocation of funds available between Regions was introduced, based on the needs emerging from the requests for help. submitted by the various beneficiaries, replacing the old system which referred to the damage census contained in the regional declaratory statements ascertaining the exceptional situation of the atmospheric event.
With the second provision, 10 million euros are allocated for the storage of Docg, Doc, Igt wines, certified or capable of becoming such, and held in plants located in the national territory. A further tool to cope with the market crisis in the wine sector, resulting from the spread of COVID-19, in particular of the Ho.Re.Ca.
The text provides for the extension of the measure also to bottled wines, the application of sanctions in the event of failure to maintain the commitment and the possibility for companies to renounce in the event of a proportional reduction due to excess requests. Applications to obtain the grant must be submitted by the producers of each plant on the SIAN portal (www.sian.it) on the basis of the provisions of Agea which, with a subsequent circular, will set the procedures and the submission period for a maximum of 5 days.
Finally, the third decree defines the priority criteria for the assignment of the compensatory contribution to the National Solidarity Fund for fisheries and aquaculture for 2021 and for subsequent years. The purpose of the decree is to support fishing and aquaculture companies that face damage to production structures and production caused by adverse weather conditions of exceptional intensity, which occurred from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023. Fishing and aquaculture companies will be able to access the 'specific division of the "National Fisheries Solidarity Fund" (equal to 6.000.000 for 2021 and 4.000.000 for each of the years 2022 and 2023) by submitting a specific application in which the loss for damage to production caused by declared events must be highlighted exceptional, provided that the extent of the damage found in the year of the disaster reaches the threshold of 30% of the average turnover of the company in the three years preceding the declared calamitous event. The grant granted, for damage to production and production facilities, is equal to 70% of the ascertained damage, within the limits of available resources.