Agriculture approves the aid guidelines for the additional cost of fertilizers in the Islands

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, Joan Simonet Pons, signed on October 28 Order 41/2026, which establishes the regulatory bases for the granting of aid intended to compensate for the additional cost of fertilizers as a result of the Middle East crisis. The provision is published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) no. 139, of October 31, 2026, within Section I (General Provisions), and enters into force the day after publication, November 1. The regulation is the mandatory preliminary step so that the Agricultural and Fisheries Guarantee Fund of the Balearic Islands (FOGAIBA) can issue the call for applications and distribute the funds.

The order implements at the regional level Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1894, of July 27, 2026 (reference C/2026/5429), published in the Official Journal of the European Union no. 1894 on July 29, by which the European Commission grants emergency financial aid to farmers affected by problems impacting their economic viability due to the crisis in the Near East. This regulation assigns an allocation to each Member State and allows for complementary national aid of up to 200% of the corresponding amount.

According to the preamble, the sectoral distribution made by the Spanish State grants the Balearic Islands 386,696.75 euros, an amount to which the Autonomous Community has decided to add its own contribution. The processing is based on article 15 of Decree-law 1/2026, of April 1, published in BOIB no. 42, which already provided for a temporary, exceptional, and compensatory call to cover this additional cost.

European, state, and regional co-financing

The aid can be co-financed with funds from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), the General State Administration, and the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, in the percentage fixed by each call. Management corresponds to FOGAIBA, an entity with NIF A04026954, which assumes the processing and payment of the files according to Decree 64/2005, of June 10.

The calls for applications will be issued by the presidency of FOGAIBA and the resolutions will be signed by its vice-president for agricultural matters. An administrative appeal may be filed against these resolutions before the head of the department competent in agriculture and fisheries.

Who can access the aid

Beneficiaries may be natural or legal persons, public or private, from the sectors listed in article 1.2 of Regulation (EU) no. 1308/2013, who meet the requirements of the call. The regulation also includes:

• Groups of natural or legal persons, public or private.
• Communities of property and any other economic unit or separate estate without legal personality.
• Members of a legal person who commit to carrying out the activities that form the basis of the subsidy.

Persons or entities that fall under any of the prohibitions set forth in Article 10 of the referred Text of the Grants Law of the Balearic Islands and Article 13.3 bis of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Grants Law, are excluded.

Regarding documentation, the call for applications will determine what must be attached, which includes the NIF, registered articles of association, proof of representation, a declaration of other grants requested, and a responsible declaration of the absence of incompatibilities. Failure to correct deficiencies within five days will result in the withdrawal of the application.

Three months to resolve and on-site controls

The maximum period for issuing and notifying the resolution is that fixed by each call, not exceeding three months, and no extensions are permitted. If notification is not made within this period, the application is understood to be rejected. General requirements must be maintained for at least three months from the application, and procedures will be processed with urgency and priority dispatch, with deadlines reduced by half except for the submission of applications and appeals.

The control regime includes administrative controls and on-site inspections. The grants are compatible with other subsidies for the same purpose, provided that there is no excessive compensation for the farmers. The Evaluation Commission will only be constituted in competitive bidding procedures, and its functions will be exercised by the head of the General Secretariat for agricultural matters.

The publication of the order is the indispensable legal condition without which no call for applications can begin, such that the agricultural sector of the Islands now has the regulatory framework to claim compensation for the increase in the cost of fertilizers which, according to the preamble, threatens the liquidity and economic viability of the farms most exposed to the international crisis.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands, no. 139, October 31, 2026, Section I. General Provisions, p. 59943 (official reference: Order 41/2026).