Regulations on Crisis Payments to Farmers After Natural Disasters

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries published in Official Gazette No. 98/2026 of September 4, 2026, the Ordinance on the implementation of intervention 78.a.01 “Crisis payments to farmers after natural disasters, adverse climatic conditions or catastrophic events” from the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy of the Republic of Croatia 2023 – 2027. The document was published on page 1187 and was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister David Vlajčić in Zagreb on August 28, 2026.

The Ordinance regulates the implementation of intervention 78.a.01, which enables farmers affected by natural disasters – drought, hail, floods, frost, storms, and fire – to receive compensation for damage to agricultural crop yields. Support is granted from the funds of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 2021/2115.

Who can receive support

Eligible beneficiaries are natural and legal persons registered in the Register of Farmers or the Register of Family Farms, who are engaged in the production of primary agricultural products. Eligible applicants are determined based on official data from the Damage Register, which contains data on farms that suffered damage and on the final damages caused by natural disasters.

• Damage must be recorded and confirmed within the territory of the Republic of Croatia
• The competent public body must declare a natural disaster
• Yield damage must reach the threshold from Article 78a paragraph 2 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115
• Compensation for damages occurring after January 1, 2025, is eligible
• Beneficiaries who have already received compensation for the same damage from other programs are not eligible

Amount and intensity of support

The final amount of support is calculated based on official data on the confirmed amount of damage from the Damage Register. The maximum amount of support per beneficiary is 42,000 euros and cannot be greater than the final amount of damage listed in the Damage Register for an individual beneficiary. The intensity of support is up to a maximum of 70% of the total recorded damage from natural disasters.

If the total eligible amount of support for all eligible applications exceeds the available funds, the eligible amount per beneficiary is reduced proportionally. Support may be limited by public call according to the natural disaster, sector or type of production, type of beneficiary, and the area where the damage was confirmed.

Procedure and deadlines

The public call is published based on the minister’s decision and is open for application for at least 30 days from the date of publication. Applications are submitted via the AGRONET system, and prior to that, the user must be registered in the Registry of Rural Development Support Beneficiaries. The procedure is implemented by the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries acts as the Managing Authority and decides on appeals.

• The application is submitted via AGRONET
• Support is paid to the user’s business account
• An appeal to the Ministry is possible against the decisions of the Payments Agency
• The Ordinance enters into force on the eighth day from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine)

The Ordinance was adopted based on Article 8.a paragraph 27 of the Agriculture Act (»Official Gazette«, No. 118/18, 42/20, 127/20 – Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, 52/21, 152/22 and 152/24). The document bears the markings Class: 011-01/25-01/29 and Registry Number: 525-13/869-26-47.

For farmers affected by increasingly frequent droughts, hailstorms, and floods, this Ordinance represents a key mechanism for rapid financial assistance in restoring production. With a maximum support of 42,000 euros per beneficiary and an intensity of up to 70% of the damage, intervention 78.a.01 enables farms to overcome the consequences of natural disasters and continue agricultural production.

Source: Ordinance on the implementation of intervention 78.a.01 »Crisis payments to farmers after natural disasters, adverse climatic conditions or catastrophic events« from the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy of the Republic of Croatia 2023 – 2027, Official Gazette No. 98/2026, Zagreb, September 4, 2026, p. 1187.