The Consell compensates cereal farmers with two million for anti-fire restrictions

The Consell has approved the regulatory bases to compensate holders of rainfed cereal farms in the Comunitat Valenciana for losses caused by the prohibition of harvesting during level 3 pre-emergency episodes due to extreme risk of forest fires in 2026. The measure is detailed in Decree 180/2026, of October 30, of the Consell, published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) No. 10486, of November 4, 2026, in section III of administrative acts, with the official reference DOGV-C-2026-34201. The regulation sets an aid of 100 euros per hectare of eligible cereal and a maximum global amount of 2,000,000 euros charged to the Generalitat’s own funds for the 2026 financial year.

The decision responds to the Resolution of June 5, 2026, of the Directorate General for Forest Fire Prevention, which suspended the use of combine harvesters and other affected agricultural machinery throughout the day when a level 3 pre-emergency is declared. During June, July, and August 2026, several episodes occurred in different territorial areas, including eleven days in which the declaration covered the entire territory of the Comunitat. These restrictions coincided with the rainfed cereal harvesting period, meaning that farms could not reap at the agronomically appropriate time and suffered production losses, a decrease in commercial quality or, in some cases, the total loss of the crop.

The agricultural professional organizations of the Comunitat Valenciana estimate losses close to 35% of cereal production for the 2026 campaign, attributed to the harvesting delays caused by the activation of level 3. The Consell emphasizes that rainfed cereal is the most affected crop because its harvesting is concentrated within a narrow time window and depends on machinery that is directly prohibited, generating irreversible damage that cannot be recovered through subsequent actions.

Direct Granting and Minimum Surface Area

The aid will be granted directly, under article 22.2.c) of the Law 38/2003, of November 17, general law on subsidies, and article 168.1.c) of the Law 1/2015, of February 6, of the Generalitat. The Consell justifies this route due to the absence of comparison or priority criteria among applicants, who are in a substantially identical situation, and the need for an immediate and uniform response.

Beneficiaries may be natural or legal persons and entities without legal personality that meet these requirements:

• Be holders of a minimum area of one hectare of rainfed cereal in the Comunitat Valenciana.
• Be registered in the Registry of Agricultural Holdings with rainfed cereal areas as of May 31, 2026.
• Maintain ownership of the holding at the time of submitting the application.
• Have a personal bank account registered in the Generalitat’s corporate third-party system.

Ten-day deadline and resolution before the end of the year

The deadline for submitting applications is ten days from the day following the publication of the decree. Each applicant shall submit a single application, covering all their areas, which will be processed preferably through the Generalitat’s electronic office. The processing has been declared urgent, which reduces the procedural deadlines, with a correction period of five business days.

The instruction corresponds to the general directorate competent in matters of the common agricultural policy, and the resolution and payment to the Valencian Agency for Agricultural Promotion and Guarantee (AVFGA). The maximum deadline to resolve and notify expires on December 31, 2026; administrative silence will be understood as a rejection. The resolution will be published in the DOGV and will exhaust the administrative route.

Financing, de minimis, and control

The aid is charged to chapter IV of the AVFGA budget, in a subsidy line that will be enabled through a budget modification. If the total amount exceeds the available credit, a proportional pro-rata will be applied among all beneficiaries. The individual amount may not exceed the de minimis limits of Regulation (EU) 1408/2013, set at 50,000 euros per single enterprise in any three-year period, with a national cap for Spain of 1,220,060,000 euros in primary agricultural production.

The managing body will verify the accumulation of aid by consulting the National Subsidy Database (BDNS) and will require reimbursement, with late payment interest, in the cases provided for in the general subsidy law. Additionally, the decree incorporates obligations for transparency and publicity of public financing.

The regulation arrives as the sector faces the closing of the budget year and affects a strategic crop for the Valencian interior: in addition to providing local raw materials, rainfed cereal supports land management, prevents land abandonment, and stabilizes the rural population. The Consell warns that the economic deterioration of the sector could accelerate the abandonment of the activity and depopulation, hence the compensatory and exceptional nature of a line that is not intended as permanent support.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10486, of November 4, 2026, section III, pages 1-11 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-34201).