The Government allocates nine million to fire aid for agricultural insured parties

The Council of Ministers approved in its meeting on October 20 the Royal Decree 849/2026, of October 21, which regulates the direct granting of aid to support policyholders contracted under the combined agricultural insurance system for damages caused to agricultural activity by the fires that occurred in 2026. The regulation, signed by King Felipe VI and countersigned by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas Puchades, is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 262, of October 22, 2026, with the reference BOE-A-2026-21948. The text authorizes a maximum expenditure of 9,000,000 euros for two lines of support destined for affected agricultural and livestock holdings.

The preamble places the origin of the measure in the multiplicity of fires that have swept through Spain in 2026, with the most serious episodes in Huelva, Ávila, Toledo, Madrid, Castellón, Zamora, Zaragoza, Huesca, and Cáceres. The year has recorded more than 270,000 affected hectares—approximately 60,000 of agricultural surface—and 42 large fires, double the average of recent years, according to the count of the Forest Fire Fighting Committee (CLIF) established by Royal Decree 716/2025. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food justifies the direct granting, without competitive bidding, under article 22.2.c) of Law 38/2003, General Law on Subsidies, for reasons of public, social, and economic interest.

Premium reinforcement up to 70 percent

The first line, regulated in article 3, consists of an extraordinary and temporary increase in the subsidy granted by the State Agricultural Insurance Entity (ENESA) to policyholders who have suffered an indemnifiable loss due to fire, up to 70% of the cost of the premium. This percentage is the maximum permitted by EU state aid regulations and also extends to policies for the removal and destruction of dead animals, provided that the holder also has live livestock insurance with fire coverage.

The amount is calculated using a closed formula: 0.7 multiplied by the cost of the premium, minus the subsidy already granted by ENESA and, where applicable, by the autonomous community. The payment will be made by AGROSEGURO within a maximum period of two months from the entry into force of the royal decree, or one month from when the appraisal reports are available if they were not already. For this line, 3,000,000 euros are incorporated into the Forty-Seventh Combined Agricultural Insurance Plan, approved by agreement of the Council of Ministers on December 23, 2025.

Direct compensation per hectare, animal, and hive

The second line, under the de minimis regime of Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013, pays fixed amounts per area, head of livestock, or damaged and compensable beehive:

• Herbaceous: €160/ha; forage crops: €260/ha; forestry: €500/ha.
• Olive groves: €500/ha; vineyards: €900/ha; nuts: €760/ha.
• Citrus: €1,900/ha; fruit trees: €3,500/ha; tropical and subtropical: €2,300/ha.
• Horticultural: €2,200/ha; strawberries, flowers, and plants: €3,260/ha.
• Cattle: €450/animal; sheep and goats: €80/animal; pigs: €50/animal; poultry: €1.15/animal; beekeeping: €120/beehive.

To these amounts is added a supplementary amount for the loss of pastures and feeding areas in extensive livestock and beekeeping policies: 100 euros per insured animal, 15 euros in the case of sheep, and 30 euros per beehive. Aid will not be granted when the amount per policy is less than 50 euros.

Deadlines and electronic processing

Policies contracted and in force on the date of the fire may be eligible, provided that the loss was declared between January 1 and September 30, 2026, and there are supporting appraisal reports. Policies reported to AGROSEGURO more than seven business days after September 30 are excluded.

The procedure, entirely electronic, is initiated ex officio upon the entry into force of the regulation—scheduled for October 23—and is managed by the Undersecretariat of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. The proposed resolution will be published on the electronic office notice board within a maximum of two months; interested parties will have three business days to reject the aid or report errors. The maximum period for resolution is six months, with a negative administrative silence, and an administrative appeal may be filed with the minister in the month following its publication.

The aids are compatible with each other and with other subsidies from any administration, within European limits, and will be published in the National Subsidy Database.

The scope of the measure is limited in budgetary terms but relevant for the sector: 9,000,000 euros against a year with more than 270,000 hectares burned and 42 large fires. Furthermore, the regulation arrives with an explicit structural policy message: to prioritize insurance as an instrument for the sustainability of the primary sector, so that public aid is concentrated on those who had already contracted a combined agricultural insurance policy.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 262, of October 22, 2026, Sec. I. General Provisions, p. 140779 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-21948).