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New call for applicants of “Young Farm Workers” government assistance

paisatgerural2014The Formentera Island Council's Office of Agriculture presently announces to the island's population of agrarian workers that the 2014 application period for the “1a Instal·lació de Joves Agricultors” (Young Farm Workers) benefits package has opened. The deadline for applications is next Friday, 21 February.

In Formentera, the maximum assistance available to a professional agricultural worker on a standard farming facility is 34,132€. Her equivalent on an ecologically-sound facility nevertheless receives more; as much as 36,064€. A part-time worker at the same standard farming facility as the one cited above, likewise, can receive up to 13,652€, while the assistance for a part-time employee of an ecologically-friendly farm can reach 14,425€.

These government grants are proposed to individuals aged 18 to 40 possessing a certain level of experience and professional qualifications in agriculture. Applicants must begin professional activity on a farming exploitation this year – whether employed by an already-established entreprise or as part of their own entrepreneurial venture. For the work to qualify under the terms of the subsidies, an applicant must commit to a minimum of five years of work.

Interested individuals must also take part in a course entitled “Incorporació de Joves a l'Agricultura” (“Young agricultural workers joining the workforce”) within the two years following approval of their application. Also required is the first IRPF declaration demonstrating fulfilment of the established agricultural/livestock yield minimums; proof of application for the assistance and a business plan, copies of which can be obtained at the Formentera Council's Office of Agriculture.

It should also be noted that aid recipients must comply with a set of conditions related to environmental impact, hygiene and animal welfare – conditions whose completion is monitored by means of an inspection to be scheduled once aid has been officially solicited.

The goals behind the farm aid package are a promotion of employment in the Balearic Islands' agrarian sector, a rejuvenation of its active farming population, and a professionalizing of human capital on its farming installations. All of these factors serve thus to prompt improvements to competitiveness, innovative capacity and economic and environmental yield.

The guarantee fund established to support farming and fishing in the Balearics is known as FOGAIBA (for Fons de Garantia Agrària i Pesquera de les Illes Balears). FOGAIBA initiated the 2014 call for applications as a means of facilitating the entry of young farmers into professions in local agriculture. This round of applications is part of the Plan for Rural Development in the Balearics, and is financed in part by the Spanish central government (40%), in part by funding through the LEADER programme (35%) and in part by the Govern Balear (25%).