The extension of the deadline for the submission of applications for the inclusion of beneficiaries in the AMALTHEIA action and subsequently the receipt of emergency financial assistance until 30 September was signed by the Deputy Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Ioannis Pappas.

The objective of the aid is to support farmers to cope with the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and in particular the large increase in feed prices leading to increased production costs in the livestock sector also in 2023.

The AMALTHEIA action is part of the overall framework of support announced by the Prime Minister to support livestock farmers and is implemented in fulfilment of the specific public policy development objectives set out in the National Strategy for Integrated Maritime Policy in the Insular Area as reflected in Law No. 4770/2021 (A' 15) and in Law No. 4832/2021 (A' 172) of the
Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy
.

On 17 May the platform of the special action AMALTHEIA was opened for the submission of applications by the island's professional livestock farmers, which concerns an extraordinary financial support from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, amounting to 12 million euros.

The aid was provided for in Article 113 of Law 4926/2022 of the Ministry of National Economy and subsequently, by virtue of an enabling provision contained in that Article, the Decree No 1175/27-04-2023 (B' 2831) was issued in which the aid was fixed:

• the time of commencement of the aid
• the duration, the scope
• the responsibilities of the implementing body
• the eligibility criteria for beneficiaries of the aid
• the ceiling
• the parameters and the method of calculating the aid
• the conditions and supporting documents for granting the aid
• the payment procedure for beneficiaries; and
• any other necessary details

The beneficiaries of the AMALTHEA programme

Beneficiaries of the aid are those who cumulatively meet the following conditions:

A) They are natural persons, tax residents of Greece.

B) They are mainly livestock farmers, according to the data of the Payment and Control Agency for Community Guidance and Guarantee Aids, as in force on 31.12.2021.

C) They are registered until 31.12.2021 as "professional farmers" in the Register of Farmers and Agricultural Holdings, which is kept at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

D) They are located in an island region of the country and specifically in Crete, Ionian Sea, including Lefkada, North Aegean, South Aegean, in regions with island clusters or individual islands, with the exception of Evia and Elafonisos of Laconia.

E) They belong to the sheep and goat sector.

Height of aid

The financial support under the AMALTHEA measure is determined on the basis of the location and number of sheep and goats owned by the farmer in accordance with the following tables:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development invites professional farmers in the sheep and goat sector, who are based in the island regions of the country, to enter the platform of the action by following the link:
https://vouchers.gov.gr
, in order to submit their application.

The platform will remain open for applications until 30 September.

The AMALTHEA action is implemented with a fully digitised process. To submit the application, each citizen must be a certified Taxisnet user.

It is possible to delete and resubmit the application as long as the platform is open for the submission of applications. The application cannot be modified since the beneficiary's details are automatically extracted by ADEA and OPEKEPE and appear pre-filled and without the right to be processed, except for the contact details, i.e. the telephone number and e-mail address.

The payment of the aid will be made after the deadline for the submission of applications and the closure of the platform of the action, and after a deminimis check has been carried out for each beneficiary, to the account with the IBAN number that he/she has declared to OPEKEPE. Beneficiaries will be informed by e-mail either that their application has been approved and the amount credited or that it has been rejected.

In case a farmer is not identified as a beneficiary of the aid and therefore cannot enter the system, or disagrees with the data as they appear in the platform when submitting his application, he should contact OPEKEPE.