Direct supports

Slovak farmers can apply for direct supports every year. Conditions for providing of direct supports are regulated by the legislation of the EU and the SR.

Direct supports are paid out from the state budget of the SR and they are reimbursed from the EU budget. All the information, legislation, forms and claimant's manual (instructions on how to fill in forms) are published by APA on the website www.apa.sk.

List of current direct supports:

1. from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)

Decoupled direct payment schemes:

  1. transitory simplified regime of basic payment (single area payment scheme, so-called SAPS),
  2. payment for agricultural procedures beneficial for the climate and environment,
  3. payment for young farmers.

Coupled direct payment schemes:

  1. payment for the cultivation of sugar beet,
  2. payment for the cultivation of hops,
  3. payment for the cultivation of selected species of fruits with high labor input,
  4. payment for the cultivation of selected species of fruits with very high labor input,
  5. payment for the cultivation of selected species of vegetables with high labor input,
  6. payment for the cultivation of selected species of vegetables with very high labor input,
  7. payment for the cultivation of tomatoes,
  8. payment for breeding of ewes, ewe lambs and goats,
  9. payment for fattening of selected categories of cattle,
  10. payment on cows bred in the system of market milk production.

2. from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)

Supports related to measures of the Rural Development Programme

  1. payments for areas facing natural or other specific constraints, i.e. for:
  2. mountain regions,
  3. regions facing significant natural constraints,
  4. regions affected by specific constraints,
  5. payments within NATURA 2000:
  6. on agricultural land,
  7. on forest land;
  8. payments for agro-environmental-climatic measures which include the following operations:
  9. integrated production in fruit-growing,
  10. integrated production in vegetable-growing,
  11. integrated production in viniculture,
  12. multifunctional borders of lands – biozones on arable land,
  13. protection of biotopes of natural and semi-natural grasslands,
  14. protection of biotope of ground squirrel,
  15. protection of biotope of great bustard,
  16. protection of water sources – Protected water management area of Rye Island (Žitný ostrov),
  17. breeding and preservation of endangered animals species;
  18. payments for ecological farming, the measure involves the following payments:
  19. payments for transition to organic farming practices and methods,
  20. payments for preservation of organic farming;

payments can be provided for:

  1. arable land,
  2. vegetables, strawberries, medicinal plants, spice plants or aromatic plants,
  3. potatoes,
  4. orchards grown intensively:
  5. young,
  6. producing fruits,
  7. other types of orchards,
  8. vineyards:
  9. young,
  10. producing fruits,
  11. permanent grassland;

payments for animal welfare, the measure includes the following operations:

  1. improving the care of dairy cows,
  2. improving the housing conditions of fattening pigs,
  3. improving the living conditions of sows and piglets at birth,
  4. improving the living conditions in poultry farms;

forest-environmental and climate services and forest protection, the measure includes the following operations:

  1. payments for forest-environmental commitments in protected bird areas,
  2. payments for forest-environmental commitments in the sites of Community importance,
  3. payments for the first aforrestation of agricultural land.

3. from the state budget of the Slovak Republic

Forms of transitional national payments:

  1. complementary national area payments,
  2. complementary national payments for hops,
  3. complementary national payments for livestock units.

Conditions for granting of direct supports:

Single area payment according to § 7 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. of 20 November 2014 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of decoupled direct payment schemes, as amended by the Government Regulation of SR No. 76/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015, is granted for agricultural area farmed by one applicant and registered in Land parcel identification system which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous land block parts of one species agricultural land (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, it is available for the applicant as of 31 May of the relevant year, has clearly marked boundaries, if not naturally defined. The applicant for this payment must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll., comply with the rules of cross-compliance according to § 4 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll., and meet the requirements according to § 5 and § 6 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2015.

Payment for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment within the meaning of § 8 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. of 20 November 2014 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of decoupled direct payment schemes, as amended by the Government Regulation of SR No. 76/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 shall be granted to the applicant who:

  1. meets the minimum requirements for granting of direct payments according to § 2 and the requirements according to § 7 Sect. 2,
  2. applies on the area agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment according to Sect. 2 of the Regulation, if it complies with specific regulation.

The practices include:

  • diversification of crops (§ 9),
  • the maintenance of existing permanent grassland (§ 10),
  • the existence of ecological focus areas (§ 11).

Payment for young farmers within the meaning of § 12 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. of 20 November 2014 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of decoupled direct payment schemes, as amended by the Government Regulation of SR No. 76/2015 Coll. shall be granted to the applicant who meets the minimum requirements for granting of direct payments according to § 2 and the requirements according to § 7 Sect. 2, meets the requirements according to Art. 50 Sect. 2 of the Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013, as amended, and has completed secondary school or university education or similar education in another EU Member State with agricultural, food-processing or veterinary specialisation. This requirement is not binding if the applicant has at least 18 months of practical experience in primary agricultural production and has passed and accredited training course or similar course in another Member State. In case the applicant is legal entity, in the first year when they apply for this payment the young farmer has effective and long-term control over this legal entity when it comes to decisions about direction, profit and financial risks. The applicant has effective control if they are competent to act for the legal entity alone or together with other persons depending on the legal form of the legal entity, and at the same time the applicant alone or together with other young farmers who are competent to act for the legal entity, is entitled to at least 50% of the company. Long-term control means that the applicant meets the requirements of Sect. 4 during calendar year. In case that the joint capital or direction of the legal entity is shared by several natural persons, including one or more persons who are not young farmers, the young farmer must have effective and long-term control according to Sect. 3 either alone or together with other persons. The payment for young farmers shall be granted only for the first 28 ha for which the support can be granted.

Payment for the cultivation of sugar beet within the meaning of § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which cannot be granted support registered in Land parcel identification system which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous land block parts of one species agricultural land (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows sugar beet in the relevant year. Application can be submitted to paying agency by the applicant who supplies sugar beet in the relevant calendar year to sugar factories. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 and the rules of cross-compliance listed in Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of hops according to § 4 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in Land parcel identification system, which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous land block parts of one species agricultural land (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows hops in the relevant year. The payment shall be granted for the area of hop-field which is recorded in the hop-fields register. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 and the rules of cross-compliance listed in Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of selected species of fruits with high labor input within the meaning of § 5 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in Land parcel identification system, which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous land block parts of one species agricultural land (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows selected species of fruits with high labour input in the relevant year. Selected species of fruits are crops specified in § 5 Sect. 2 of the Regulation. The payment shall be granted for the area of agricultural land which is recorded in the Register of orchards and meets the minimum requirement for the number of vital plants for 1 ha of orchard according to § 5 Sect. 3 b) of the Regulation. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance listed in Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of selected species of fruits with very high labour input according to § 6 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in Land parcel identification system, which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous land block parts of one species agricultural land (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows selected species of fruits with very high labour input in the relevant year. Selected species of fruits with very high labour input means apples and pears, and the payment for cultivation of these fruits shall be granted for the area of agricultural land if it is recorded in the Register of orchards and meets the minimum requirement of 400 vital plants per hectar of the orchard. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance listed in Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of selected species of vegetables with high labour input within the meaning of § 7 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system), which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous parts of one land block with one culture (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows selected species of vegetables with high labour input in the relevant year. Selected species of vegetables are leaf vegetables (lettuce and spinach) and legumes (bean and pea). The payment shall be granted for the area of agricultural land which meets the minimum requirement for the number of sown seeds or planted plants of these vegetables for 1 ha, which is specified in Annex No. 1 to the Regulation. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance according to Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of selected species of vegetables with very high labour input within the meaning of § 8 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system), which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous parts of one land block with one culture (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows selected species of vegetables with very high labour input in the relevant year. Selected species of vegetables are vegetables according to § 8 Sect. 2 of the Regulation. The payment shall be granted for the area of agricultural land which meets the minimum requirement for the number of sown seeds or planted plants for 1 ha according to Annex No. 2 of the Regulation. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance according to Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for the cultivation of tomatoes within the meaning of § 9 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in relation to the coupled scheme of direct payments, shall be granted to the applicant who farms agricultural area for which can be granted support registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system), which amounts to at least 1 hectar, and this area can be represented by several contiguous parts of one land block with one culture (arable land, permanent cultures, gardens, permanent grassland) with an area of at least 0.3 hectar, and on which the applicant grows tomatoes in the relevant year. The payment shall be granted for the area of agricultural land which meets the minimum requirement of 8 000 plants per hectar. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance according to Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment for breeding of ewes, ewe lambs and goats shall be granted within the meaning of § 10 Sect. 1 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of coupled direct payment schemes. The applicant shall be granted the payment if their ewes, ewe lambs listed in § 13 Sect. 4 b) are recorded in the Central register of farm animals. The applicant must be the holder of the recorded ewes, ewe lambs and goats at least 2 months since submission of their application and the livestock is registered under the holder. The applicant must meet the requirements for identification and registration of selected categories of cattle. Selected categories of cattle are male cattle younger than 6 months, between 6 months and 2 years, or older than 2 years. Payment shall be granted to the applicant if the total amount of payments exceeds EUR 100. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance according to Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment on fattening of selected categories of cattle shall be granted to the applicant within the meaning of § 11 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of coupled direct payment schemes. The applicant shall be granted the payment if the selected categories of cattle listed in §13 Sect. 4 b) are recorded in the Central register of farm animals. The applicant must be the holder of the recorded categories of cattle at least 2 months since submission of their application and the livestock is registered under the holder. The applicant must meet the requirements for identification and registration of selected categories of cattle. Selected categories of cattle are male cattle younger than 6 months, between 6 months and 2 years, or older than 2 years. Payment shall be granted to the applicant if the total amount of payments exceeds EUR 100. The applicant must meet the requirements for active farmer according to § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. and the rules of cross-compliance according to Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll.

Payment on cows bred in the system of market milk production shall be granted to the applicant according to § 12 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 36/2015 Coll. of 18 February 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of coupled direct payment schemes. The applicant shall be granted the payment if the dairy cows listed in § 13 Sect. 4 b) are recorded in the Central register of farm animals. The applicant must be holder of the recorded dairy cows at least 2 months since submission of their application and the livestock is registered under the holder. The applicant must meet the requirements for identification and registration of dairy cows. Dairy cow means female cattle suitable for market milk production which have calved at least once.

Conditions for granting supports in the context of RDP measures:

Payment for areas with natural constraints or other specific constraints (ANC/LFA) within the meaning of § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures shall be granted for mountain areas 1-4, areas with significant natural constraints 1-5 or A, and areas with specific constraints 1-3. Land block sections are classified into areas according to cadastral subdivisions. If only a part of this land block section is situated on the territory which belongs to the area, the payment shall be granted only for this part of the land block. Cadastral territories which belong to those areas are listed in Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll.

Payment within Natura 2000 for agricultural land within the meaning of § 7 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures shall be granted for agricultural land block section situated on the sites of Community importance with protection level 4 and 5 according to § 15 and § 16 of the Act No. 543/2002 Coll. The sites of Community importance are listed in Annex No. 3 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. If only a part of applicant's land block section is situated on the site of Community importance or under protection level 4 and 5, the payment shall be granted only for this part of the land block.

Payment within Natura 2000 for forest land within the meaning of § 11 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures shall be granted for forest land recorded in Register of forest lands with protection level 5 according to § 16 of Act No. 543/2002 Coll., which is situated within the site of Community importance or beyond the site of Community importance. The sites of Community importance are listed in Annex No. 5 and the areas situated beyond the sites of Community importance are listed in Annex No. 6 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. If only a part of the forest land is situated on the site of Community importance, the payment shall be granted only for this part of the forest land. Payment shall not be granted for forest land if nature protection authority issued exception for activities according to specific regulation, which allows intervention into forest vegetation and damage to soil cover and vegetation cover. This forest land thus cannot receive support until the end of the programme period. Application can be submitted by the applicant who farms at least 1 ha of forest land and commits to meet the requirement of § 13 Sect. 1 during the period of commitment.

Payment for forest environmental and climate services and forest protection within the meaning of § 47 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures involves the following operations:

  1. payments for forest environmental commitments in protected bird areas,
  2. payments for forest environmental commitments in the sites of Community importance.

These operations can be performed on forest lands with forest vegetation recorded in Register of forest land. Operation 1) can be performed in protected bird areas listed in Annex No. 19 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. with nesting habitats of selected bird species. Operation 2) can be performed on the sites of Community importance with protection level 3 and 4, which are listed in Annex No. 20 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. If during the period of commitment the forest protection programme expires and a new forest protection programme is created, the applicant has to apply for adjustment of the commitment without changing the area no later than 10 days from the date when the forest protection programme expired. The applicant must manage at least 1 ha of forest land and must have an approved forest protection programme.

Payment for the first aforrestation of agricultural land within the meaning of § 55 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. of 8 April 2015 that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures can be granted according to Art. 43 of the Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 and Art. 88 of the Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013 as amended. The support for the first afforestation can be granted for agricultural land which is registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system). The applicant shall submit application for support on managing forest land annually during 5 years, starting from the year following the year of afforestation by 15 May of the calendar year, together with identification sheet. The applicant shall submit application for support on compensation of income losses due to cessation of their agricultural activity annually during 15 years, starting from the year following the year of afforestation by 15 May of the calendar year, together with identification sheet. The applicant must make sure that during those years the number of forest trees on the afforested area does not fall bellow 80% of the originally planted forest trees, and the species composition must be preserved. The applicant shall make sure that until the end of the commitment period the forest vegetation is maintained without serious damage, has adapted to the conditions of the habitat and has a noticeable height increase.

Other supports in relation to rural development measures (agro-environmental climatic measure, organic farming and animal welfare), which are also granted within the meaning of the Government Regulation of SR No. 75/2015 Coll. that lays down the rules for granting support in relation to the rural development measures are listed in the Applicants' guide for support on selected non-project measures of RDP of SR 2014-2020. This guide can be found on our website www.apa.sk in section "Aktuality" or in section "Priame a agro-environmentálne podpory" (Direct and agro-environmental supports) posted on 13/04/2015.

Conditions for granting transitional national payments:

Complementary national area payment within the meaning of § 2 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 152/2013 of 30 May 2013 on the conditions for granting support in agriculture in form of transitional national payments, as amended, shall be granted to the applicant if:

  1. the area was cultivated as of 30 June 2003,
  2. the area has at least 1 ha (this condition is fulfilled if the area comprises several contiguous land block sections of the relevant land type with an area of at least 0.3 hectares farmed by one applicant),
  3. the area has clearly identified and defined borders, unless the border is naturally bounded.

The complementary area payment may be granted for a determined area of arable land, vineyards, orchards and hop gardens registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system) according to the application for a single area payment. Prerequisite for granting of payment is compliance with good agricultural and environmental conditions (Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. of 20 November 2014 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of decoupled direct payment schemes, as amended by the Government Regulation of SR No. 76/2015 Coll.).

Complementary national payment for hops within the meaning of § 3 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 152/2013 of 30 May 2013 on the conditions for granting support in agriculture in form of transitional national payments, as amended, shall be granted to the applicant for a hop-field which is registered in LPIS (Land parcel identification system) as of 31 December 2006, if its area reaches at least 0.3 hectar. If the area of hop-fields specified in the application for payment exceeds 305.13 hectars, the applicant shall be granted a payment reduced in proportion to the area of hop-field exceeding this surface. The applicant for payment on hops must cultivate in compliance with good agricultural and environmental conditions (Annex No. 2 to the Government Regulation of SR No. 342/2014 Coll. of 20 November 2014 that lays down the rules for granting support in agriculture in the context of decoupled direct payment schemes, as amended by the Government Regulation of SR No. 76/2015 Coll.).

Complementary national payment for livestock units within the meaning of § 4 of the Government Regulation of SR No. 152/2013 of 30 May 2013 on the conditions for granting support in agriculture in form of transitional national payments, as amended, shall be granted for at least one livestock unit to the applicant who breeds suckler cows older than 24 months, sheep and goats older than 12 months specified in the application at least 2 months since the submission of the application, or applicant who breeds calves younger than 6 months, cattle between 6 and 24 months, bulls, oxen and heifers older than 24 months, as well as for individual reference quantity of milk.

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