EU to allocate funds to Estonian pig breeders
The European Commission has decided to meet the demand of the Estonian Ministry of Agriculture and allocate direct subsidies to local pig breeders.
The breeders currently are finding themselves in a difficult situation due to Russia’s import ban over the outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the region.
Of the total amount of direct subsidies from European Union, the Estonian pig farmers will receive about EUR 2.6 million this year, according to a report of the Ministry. This amount of money should be enough to avoid mass bankruptcies if Russia’s ban on pork imports will last for a long time.
At the same time according to the press-secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Karin Volmer, to receive subsidies pig producers will have to set high standards of pigs keeping, in particular this means that pig farmer applying for grants must, for example, increase the area of corral per one pig or install the walking yard.
At the same time, the pig farming sector in Estonia will have to spend a huge amount of money to improve biosecurity on farms, as the ASF virus has come very close to the borders of the country, and according to some experts it may already have entered Estonian territory with infected wild boars.
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