More than 14,000 farmers are seeking state taxpayer-funded compensation for crop losses following last summer’s drought. The number compares to 890 last year, reports newspaper Nationen.
Most of the farmers seeking financial aid over and above the subsidy and tariff protection they also receive are located in the counties of Oppland, Østfold and Akershus, according to the state agicultural directorate that’s handling the applications.
State officials had expected around 12,000 applications for the extraordinary extra funding already set aside by the government under pressure from Norway’s powerful farmers’ lobby. The actual number of 14,419 “confirms the damage the drought caused,” said Gunn Eide of the directorate.
Nationen reported that NOK 269 million has already been paid out. The rest is expected to be paid to farmers by the end of the year.
newsinenglish.no staff
