Farmers who grow sunflowers and maize and have been affected by the extreme heat will receive urgent financial aid no later than September 30, 2026. This is provided for in the revised draft of the support ordinance, which was published for a new public consultation with a deadline of August 6. The support in the revised ordinance will cover farmers from across the country, not just from specific municipalities.

Expansion of Scope

The initial version of the document, presented on June 12, stipulated restrictive conditions – the aid would be directed only to farmers whose lands are located in municipalities with officially reported "catastrophic" drought. However, the National Association of Grain Producers and the Association of Agricultural Producers in Bulgaria reacted with opinions against this restriction. As a result, the texts were revised, and the new draft removes the regional principle, recognizing that the drought of the summer of 2025 has caused damage to producers in various regions across all of Bulgaria.

Budget and Exclusions

The guaranteed budget under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund amounts to EUR 7.4 million. National co-financing of up to EUR 14.8 million may be added to this amount, but only on the condition that funds are secured in the budget of the State Fund "Agriculture" (SFA).

Compensations will be calculated based on a flat rate per hectare for the established most severely affected areas with the two crops. However, those sunflower and maize fields for which farmers used irrigation during the 2025 season through official water supply contracts with "Irrigation Systems" EAD are categorically excluded from the support.

Application and Payment Schedule*

From August 17 to August 28, 2026 The State Fund "Agriculture" opens the intake for emergency financial aid for farmers growing sunflowers and maize.

The support is for farmers affected by adverse climatic events in Bulgaria, Estonia, and Hungary, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L, 2026/847, 17.04.2026) (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/847).
Financial aid can be received by farmers who are natural persons, sole traders, and legal entities, registered for 2025 under Ordinance No. 3 of 1999 on the creation and maintenance of a register of farmers, whose areas with sunflowers and maize, expressed in hectares, have been established as eligible for support for Campaign 2025 under the intervention "Basic Income Support for Sustainability" (BISS), for which no state aid "Aid for compensating damage to agricultural crops caused by adverse climatic events that can be equated to natural disasters" with number SA.104672 (2022/N) has been provided for drought damage occurring in 2025, and for which there is no concluded contract with "Irrigation Systems" EAD for the supply of water for irrigation for the 2025 irrigation season.
Support documents will be accepted at the Regional Directorates of the State Fund "Agriculture", Department "Implementation of Schemes and Support Measures" (DISSM), at the permanent address of the natural person or at the management address of the sole trader or legal entity.
By September 30, 2026, the State Fund "Agriculture" will pay out the financial support from the budget of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund. If funds are available in the SFA budget, an additional payment may be made by December 31, 2026, also with national funds.
The aid funds will be paid to eligible applicants after all administrative checks have been carried out.
The application for support is published on the SFA website in the section "Schemes and Support Measures" – subsection "Emergency Support Schemes" – "Urgent financial aid for farmers growing sunflowers and maize – 2026".
It is filled in on paper only when submitted by an authorized person.

 

* The article was updated on 17.08.2026.