Livestock farms: EU gives the go-ahead for €73 million in aid to combat avian influenza and swine fever
With national co-funding, the funds allocated to businesses – following recognition of the indirect damage caused by health restrictions – have risen to 146.5 million
The European Commission has approved regulations making €73.25 million in EU aid available to Italia – a figure that rises to €146.5 million with national co-financing – for farmers and livestock breeders affected by health restrictions relating tohighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and African swine fever (ASF). The go-ahead from Brussels was confirmed by the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, on the sidelines of his meeting with the Minister for Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida.
The European funding recognises the indirect losses suffered by businesses located in areas subject to health restrictions and is divided into the following sectors: avian influenza (HPAI), with €60.7 million in EU funds, rising to €121.4 million with national co-financing, allocated to the poultry sector to compensate for indirect losses suffered in connection with outbreaks recorded between 2022 and 2025. The funding covers the extension of health-related downtime, the suspension or extension of rearing cycles, the early slaughter of breeding stock, and the downgrading or destruction of eggs and products.
Under the PSA, 12.6 million in EU funds – rising to over 25 million with national co-financing – are earmarked for the pig sector to address the consequences of outbreaks reported between 1 November 2024 and 30 April 2025. Here too, the funds will be used to compensate for indirect losses resulting from delays in slaughter, production stoppages and the forced extension of rearing cycles.
The allocation of the 73 million is the result of the work carried out by Masaf via a dedicated IT platform, which made it possible to collect, verify and certify the actual damage suffered by the sector, thereby providing Brussels with a solid and indisputable database.
“The approval of the European regulations allocating 73 million euros to Italia represents a key milestone and demonstrates how the thorough work of mapping and quantifying the damage leads to tangible results for our agricultural sector. ‘This latest measure,’ said Minister Lollobrigida, ‘complements previous initiatives carried out by the MASAF, with €114 million already earmarked for combating avian influenza and a total of over €100 million for African swine fever.Our livestock farmers have faced the strict health measures aimed at containing avian influenza and African swine fever with an enormous sense of responsibility and sacrifice. ‘Thanks to our ongoing dialogue with Commissioner Christophe Hansen, we have succeeded in putting forward the case for the Italian livestock sector, securing guaranteed resources to protect businesses and our food sovereignty.’
