The European Commission has approved a Polish aid programme for farmers worth EUR 1 billion.

The programme comes in response to disruption to the Polish agricultural sector caused by a glut of imported Ukrainian agri-produce on the domestic market.

Farmers complained that the glut had depressed prices and made it hard for them to sell their produce. At the same time the war in Ukraine has also bumped up prices of fertilisers, inflicting more woe on the farming sector.

“The European Commission has approved an approximately €1 billion (PLN 4.7 billion) Polish scheme to support the liquidity of agricultural producers in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework,” said the European Commission on Tuesday.

Under the programme, support will consist of limited amounts of aid in the form of direct grants. The aim of the measure is to support agricultural producers who are currently struggling with liquidity shortages due to the increase in the cost of mineral fertilizers, and the lack of stability on the agricultural market caused by the current crisis.