Cantabria grants direct aid of 23 euros per hectare against drought

The Governing Council of Cantabria has approved Decree 66/2026, of September 17, which regulates the direct granting of aid under the de minimis regime for agricultural holdings hit by the drought of spring and summer 2026. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) no. 182, of September 22, 2026, with the reference CVE-2026-7363, and enters into force on the day of its publication.

The decree is based on a specific diagnosis: the occurrence of prolonged periods of high temperatures and precipitation deficits during the spring and summer of 2026 significantly reduced the production of pastures and crops in Cantabria. In livestock farms, this decrease limited the ability to satisfy the livestock’s nutritional needs with own resources, forcing an early reliance on winter reserves and the purchase of fodder and concentrates on the market.

The text emphasizes the double economic impact borne by the holdings: the loss or reduction of food resources obtained on the farm itself and the increased cost of the inputs that replace them, in a context of limited supply that is not exclusive to Cantabria, but affects other areas of Spain and the rest of Europe. To this is added the high price of other important inputs such as fuels and fertilizers, mainly due to the conflict in the Middle East. The regional Government thus justifies an urgent public intervention to preserve the viability and continuity of the agricultural sector.

Direct granting and legal framework

The aid is granted through the direct granting procedure, under article 22.2.c) of the General Subsidies Law 38/2003, of November 17, and article 22.3.c) of the Cantabria Law 10/2006, of July 17, on Subsidies of Cantabria. The decree argues that the aid is of a singular nature and that there is no real situation of competitive bidding, as all holders of agricultural and livestock holdings who comply with the provisions of the regulation can be beneficiaries.

The subsidy falls under Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013, of 18 December 2013, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agricultural sector. The legal framework is completed by Royal Decree 887/2006, of July 21, and by Law 4/2026, of April 28, on the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria for the year 2026.

Amount and beneficiaries

Funding is charged to budget application 05.03.414A.474 of the 2026 regional budgets. The maximum unit amount is 23 euros per hectare of final compensable area for each beneficiary, calculated based on the maximum area determined for payment purposes among the aids per enclosure declared in Order DES/07/2025, of February 24, 2025.

The following may be beneficiaries of the aid:

• Natural or legal persons who are holders of agricultural and livestock holdings in Cantabria.
• Those who have met the condition of Active Farmer (ATP) within the framework of the aids for areas with natural constraints or other specific constraints (ZLN) of Order DES/07/2025.
• Those who meet the requirements of Article 12 and the obligations of Article 13 of Cantabria Law 10/2006.
• Those who do not exceed the de minimis limits set in Regulation (EU) 1408/2013.

Deadlines, resolution, and payment

The application is considered submitted upon the presentation of the 2025 ZLN aid application, unless there is an express waiver. The key deadlines are:

• Ten business days from the entry into force to waive the aid or to oppose the consultation of data, using the model in Annex I.
• Three months from the publication in the BOC for the head of the Department competent in Rural Development to resolve.
• One month to file an optional appeal for reversal against the granting resolution.

The General Directorate of Rural Development is the competent body for the organization and instruction of the procedure and processes the payment proposal, which is paid in a single payment via transfer to the holding’s bank account linked to the CAP Single Application. The resolution is published in the BOC and replaces individual notification. The decree is signed by the president of the Governing Council, María José Sáenz de Buruaga Gómez, and by the counselor of Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food, María Jesús Susinos Tarrero.

The measure arrives while the Cantabrian primary sector is still facing a campaign of skyrocketing costs, with livestock feed as the main concern for holdings. By linking the payment to the data already declared in the 2025 CAP single application, the Department avoids additional administrative burdens and seeks a rapid response, although the unit amount of 23 euros per hectare leaves the actual extent of the economic relief for each holding dependent on the number of compensable hectares.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 182, of September 22, 2026, section 6. Subsidies and Grants, pp. 46371-46376 (official reference: CVE-2026-7363).