During the Government Meeting, a Decision was adopted to approve the Support Program for the production of vegetables grown in protected areas for the period 2023 - 2024 and to amend Article 8 of Government Decision No. 1569/2022 approving the support program for tomato production in protected areas for the year 2023.

The program specifies that vegetable growers who establish crops of tomatoes, bell peppers, long peppers, gherkins, green beans, lettuce, spinach, and green onions in protected areas covering an area of 1,000 square meters and meet the conditions provided by the regulatory act will benefit from a maximum de minimis aid of 1,000 euros per 1,000 square meters per beneficiary.

"Today's approved Decision also includes the increase of the budget for tomatoes in cycle 1 by approximately 65 million lei, so that we can cover all payment requests submitted by farmers for tomato production in cycle 1. Therefore, the budget increases from 262.3 million lei to 327.9 million lei.

We also have a record number of beneficiaries enrolled in the program this year – 22,088. Through the adopted regulatory act, eligible beneficiaries will receive support of 3,000 euros for 1,000 square meters cultivated with tomatoes in protected areas.

At the same time, through this regulatory act, we ensure funding for farmers who will enroll in the program for the period 2023 - 2024 and will receive 1,000 euros per 1,000 square meters cultivated with tomatoes, bell peppers, gherkins, green beans, lettuce, spinach, or green onions," said Minister Florin Barbu.

Applications for the period 2023 - 2024 must be submitted within 20 days from the publication of the Government Decision in the Official Gazette. The utilization of the production will take place between October 20, 2023, and January 31, 2024, with payments to be made after February 26, 2024.