The 2025 drought: up to 333 lei/ha for maize and sunflower, applications to APIA

On 18 September 2026 the Government adopted the decision granting emergency financial support to farmers with maize and/or sunflowers affected by the 2025 soil drought. The support reaches up to 333 lei/ha, for areas with a degree of damage between 30% and 100%. The total budget is 155,361,520 lei, and APIA must pay the money by 31 December 2026 at the latest.

You cannot submit the application on your own initiative at any time: first, the county agricultural directorates send APIA the list of farmers with damage reports, within 10 working days at most of the decision entering into force. Once this period has expired, farmers have 20 working days to submit the application to the APIA centre where they submitted their single payment application for 2025.

In brief

• Programme: emergency financial support for maize and/or sunflower crops affected by the 2025 soil drought
• Authority: APIA implements the scheme, and MADR is the responsible authority
• Beneficiaries: farmers who are individuals, PFA (sole traders), II, IF and legal entities (agricultural companies, commercial companies, producer groups and organisations, cooperatives, universities, research institutes and stations) with an APIA payment application in 2025
• Total budget: 155,361,520 lei (29.6 million euro), half from EAGF and half from the MADR budget
• Amount per hectare: maximum 333 lei/ha (equivalent to 63 euro/ha), proportional to the degree of damage
• Submission: at the county/local APIA centre, within a maximum of 20 working days from the end of the 10-working-day period (from the decision entering into force) in which the county agricultural directorates send the lists to APIA
• Status: decision adopted on 18 September 2026; payment by 31 December 2026 at the latest

Who can receive the support?

According to the text of the decision published by the General Secretariat of the Government, farmers are eligible if they meet four conditions cumulatively:

• they have a report recording and assessing the damage for the period June–August 2025, drawn up on the model in MADR/MAI Order No. 97/63/2020, for maize and/or sunflowers;
• the affected area represents between 30% and 100% of the crop area determined in the 2025 payment application;
• they are registered with APIA with a payment application for 2025;
• they are included with the county agricultural directorate in the consolidated statement of damage reports.

All maize and sunflower codes in Annex 1 are eligible, including organic or in-conversion crops and seed and hybridisation plots. Farmers declared ineligible for the area payment or for the transitional national aid in the 2025 campaign cannot receive the support. If the holding was taken over by transfer, the application can be submitted by the person who took it over. They attach the transfer document and the report drawn up in the name of the former holder.

How much you receive: how the amount is calculated

For a degree of damage above 90%, up to 100%, the full amount of 333 lei/ha is granted. For a degree of damage between 30% and 90%, the amount is reduced proportionally: 333 lei/ha multiplied by the percentage in the report, divided by 100. If the report indicates a range rather than a fixed value, the average of the range is used.

Calculation example: a farmer has 100 ha of maize, and the report indicates damage of 50–70%. The average of the range is 60%, so the support is 333 × 60 / 100 = 199.8 lei/ha, or 19,980 lei for 100 ha. The area taken into account cannot exceed the area determined by APIA in the 2025 payment application.

The final amount may be adjusted in two situations. If applications exceed the budget, APIA applies the same reduction coefficient to all farmers. If money is left over, the difference is shared equally across the hectares affected at 30–90%, without exceeding 333 lei/ha.

What happens if you also have drought insurance?

Farmers with drought insurance, including those who received support through intervention DR-31 for insurance premiums, must declare in the application any compensation received. The insurer's compensation plus the emergency support cannot exceed 80% of eligible costs. The decision sets these costs at approximately 6,560 lei/ha, and APIA also checks the ceiling of 40% of the estimated loss of income for 2025. Anything above the ceiling is recovered, with interest.

How and by when do you submit the application?

1. Within 10 working days at most of the decision entering into force, each county agricultural directorate sends the county APIA centre the list of farmers with damage reports, organised by UAT.
2. Once this 10-working-day period has expired, farmers have a maximum of 20 working days to submit the application to the APIA centre where they submitted their payment application for 2025. APIA provides pre-filled applications with the determined areas.
3. The application can be submitted at the counter, by fax, by post or by e-mail. A copy of the bank statement is attached only if the bank account has changed since 2025. Copies of documents must bear the words "certified true copy of the original", the date and the signature.
4. APIA checks the applications, sends out any rejections within 5 working days, then consolidates the amounts and makes the payment by 31 December 2026.

The exact calendar dates are calculated from the entry into force of the decision (the day after its publication in the Official Gazette): 10 working days for the agricultural directorates' lists, then 20 working days for applications. We therefore recommend confirming the exact deadline with the APIA centre in your county.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation is to check now whether you have the damage report for summer 2025 and whether you are on the county agricultural directorate's list. Without this document, the application has no basis. If you are missing from the list, go to the agricultural directorate immediately, because the 20-working-day window passes quickly.

Common pitfalls: a changed and undeclared bank account, the area in the report being larger than the area determined by APIA (only the determined area is paid) and failure to declare compensation from the insurer. The last of these leads to repayment with interest. Keep all documents for 10 years, as the decision requires. The amount is modest compared with costs (5.08% of average costs), so it is worth treating as partial compensation. For investments in irrigation or farm modernisation, check which programmes suit you with the eligibility check.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I receive per hectare for maize affected by drought in 2025?

A maximum of 333 lei/ha, for a degree of damage above 90%. For a degree of damage between 30% and 90%, the amount is 333 lei multiplied by the damage percentage and divided by 100. For example, at 60% damage you receive 199.8 lei/ha.

Do I have to submit a new application to APIA?

Yes. The support is granted only on the basis of an application submitted to the APIA centre where you submitted your payment application for 2025, within a maximum of 20 working days from the end of the 10-working-day period in which the county agricultural directorates send the lists of farmers to APIA.

Can I receive the support if I do not have a damage record?

No. A report recording and assessing the damage for June–August 2025, with a degree of damage of at least 30%, is an eligibility condition. The farmer must also appear in the consolidated statement of the county agricultural directorate.

Can the support be combined with compensation from an insurer?

Yes, but together they cannot exceed 80% of the average eligible costs, set at approximately 6,560 lei/ha. Compensation received is declared in the application, and anything above the ceiling is repaid with interest.

When does the money arrive?

The decision provides that payment is made by 31 December 2026 at the latest, through APIA, into the account indicated in the application.

Official sources

• Government of Romania – normative acts adopted at the meeting of 18 September 2026
• Text of the decision and annexes (SGG)
• SGG – draft normative acts for the Government meeting of 18 September 2026

Information checked on 28 September 2026. Conditions may be amended by the managing authority — check the guide in force before submitting.