Background information

As confirmed by data from the harvest statistics, the 2018 drought had a significant impact on German agriculture: yields per hectare for cereals (excluding grain maize) in 2018 were 16% below the three-year average of previous years. The German states Schleswig-Holstein (-31%), Brandenburg (-27%), Saxony-Anhalt (-26%), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (-25%) and Lower Saxony (-26%) were the most affected. On 22 August 2018, it was announced that the drought was an event of national proportions. The federal government participated in state aid programs to help affected agricultural companies. The extent of the damage in these companies was estimated at around €770 million. The federal and state governments together provided up to €340 million to compensate for some of the damage. The exact conditions under which the aid was granted were regulated in an administrative agreement between the federal and state governments.

Content of measure

The agreement between the federal state and the states' governments contained the following key points: the federal and state governments together provided up to €340 million in funds. Recipients of the aid can only be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

• Only companies whose existence was at risk were supported. A threat to existence was assumed if, after other funding has been used, continued business existence was not guaranteed until the next financial year.
• Aid was only granted if the drought caused the average annual production (natural yield) of the agricultural company in question to fall by more than 30 percent.
• A subsidy of up to 50 percent of the damage was granted.
• The maximum aid amount per company was €500,000.
• Amounts that were less than €2,500 were not paid out.

When calculating the damage and the amount of aid, it was taken into account whether the business owners had assets and positive income that could reasonably be used in the business. In such a case, the eligible damage or aid amount was adjusted.

Use of measure

According to a report from February 2020, a total of around 7,000 agricultural businesses were supported with a total of €292 million. In the largest German stat North Rhine-Westphalia, 622 applications were submitted and 457 approved. The average payout amount was €19,097.62 (€2,504.97 the lowest, and €328,074.58 the highest).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Other businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government	National funds Regional funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Unknown. Many companies in the agriculture business are family businesses.

Views and reactions

Unknown.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 02 October 2018: Verwaltungsvereinbarung Dürrehilfe 2018 (www.landtag.nrw.de)