Álava updates agri-environmental aid and saves irrigated sugar beet

The Provincial Government Council of Álava has approved Provincial Decree 29/2026, of August 4, which modifies the regulatory bases for aid for the adoption of environmental, climate, and management commitments, and announces the aid for the year 2026. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) on Friday, August 21, 2026, number 95, with reference 2026-02459, and enters into force the day following its publication.

The reform responds to two fronts: the audit by the Internal Audit Service of the Paying Agency of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country regarding the 2024 call for intervention 6501.2 (Sustainable Crops) and the non-strategic modification of the CAP Strategic Plan (PEPAC) approved by the European Commission, which entered into force on March 3. The text updates Provincial Decree 23/2024, of September 17, which in turn replaced the 2023 bases.

The irrigated sugar beet crisis

The trigger for the reform is the critical situation of irrigated sugar beet cultivation, which is experiencing a decline in production aggravated by regulatory adjustments, the reduction of active substances against pests and diseases, and the fall in prices received by the farmer. Since other admitted crops cannot absorb the transfer of the area dedicated to sugar beet, the regulation expands the admissible crop groups for the aid:

• Group 1. Grain legumes for human consumption of summer cultivation under irrigation.
• Group 2. Extensive vegetables of summer cultivation under irrigation.
• Group 3. Seed potatoes and potatoes for human consumption under irrigation.
• Group 4. Sugar beet under irrigation.
• Group 5. Sunflower and maize under irrigation, without an annual premium per hectare, only for the purpose of maintaining the committed area.

A minimum area of 2 hectares of extensive crops is required, with no single group being able to apply with less than 1 hectare, and the obligation for technical direction and physical-chemical soil analysis every four years is maintained.

Priority for women farmers

Following the audit’s recommendation, the regulation expressly incorporates article 15.c) of Law 8/2015, of October 15, of the Statute of Women Farmers. When pro-rating is planned due to the exhaustion of the budget allocation, holdings owned by a woman, under joint ownership, or belonging to a legal entity with at least 50% female participation (two partners) or 40% (more than two), will receive the full amount of the aid without pro-rating.

2026 Call and Allocation

The 2026 call reserves 3,400,000 euros charged to the item “40101. G/414400/47900418 Agri-environmental Measures 2026”, payable in 2027, co-financed by the EAFRD at 80%. Applications are integrated into the “single application” of Royal Decree 1048/2022, valid from February 1, 2026, and are submitted at the regional agricultural offices or through the CAP web portal. The maximum amounts per holding range between 18,000 and 21,000 euros for individual ownership and between 25,000 and 29,200 euros for associative holdings, depending on the number of interventions or crop groups.

The regulation, signed by General Deputy Ramiro González Vicente, Provincial Deputy for Agriculture Noemí Aguirre Quintana, and the Director of Agriculture David Fernández Sarabia, responds to a strategic sector of Alavese irrigation, guaranteeing the continuity of agri-environmental commitments and opening the door to alternative crops that allow the income of the holdings to be sustained at a time of strong pressure on beet cultivation.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava, no. 95, August 21, 2026, section I (official reference: 2026-02459).