France Adds Fertiliser Aid to Billion-Euro Drought Package
06 September 2026, Paris: The French government has earmarked 145 million euros to help farmers buy nitrogen fertiliser through the rest of the year, one strand of an emergency support package worth more than 1 billion euros announced on September 4, 2026 to help the country’s agricultural sector recover from a record-breaking summer drought.
The fertiliser measure, which includes 38 million euros in dedicated national credit, is designed to offset the higher cost of nitrogen inputs for farmers trying to re-establish crops and pasture after one of the driest, hottest growing seasons on record. The support has been extended through December 31, 2026, giving farmers a longer window to restock before the next planting cycle. A separate measure trims 15 cents per litre off the cost of agricultural diesel (known in France as GNR) through the end of October, easing another major input cost at the same time.
France’s Minister of Agriculture, Agro-alimentaire and Food Sovereignty, Annie Genevard, presented the wider package after government data showed the scale of the damage. July 2026 was the hottest on record nationally, with average temperatures of 24.9 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous records set in 2003 and 1976. Around 65 percent of French territory experienced what officials described as unprecedented drought conditions, with 95 of France’s roughly 100 administrative departments placed under water-use restrictions, 79 of them at the most severe crisis level. Yield losses averaged around 50 percent in many regions, and forage stocks for livestock fell short by more than half in numerous areas, a shortfall that threatens winter feed supplies for cattle and sheep.
A broader billion-euro package
Beyond the fertiliser and fuel measures, the package includes 520 million euros through France’s National Solidarity Indemnification scheme to compensate production losses, 300 million euros in relief on land tax for undeveloped agricultural property, 235 million euros through an agricultural support fund, 30 million euros under the existing agricultural calamities scheme, and 20 million euros to ease farmers’ social security contributions. The government also raised the advance payment rate on solidarity indemnification from 70 to 80 percent of the projected payout, so farmers receive cash sooner rather than waiting for final loss assessments.
Notably, France also secured a change at the European Union level as part of the response: the reference period used to calculate yield losses under CAP crisis mechanisms will be extended from five to eight years, starting with the 2027 campaign, a technical but significant reform that should smooth out the effect of an increasingly volatile climate on future compensation calculations.
Farm unions want more
Farm unions gave the package a mixed reception. The FNSEA, France’s largest farmers’ union, said it fell well short of what is needed, having earlier called for direct aid of 450 euros per hectare and put total agricultural losses this year above 10 billion euros. The smaller Confederation Paysanne was harsher still, calling the plan inadequate and warning it effectively overlooks the roughly 82 percent of French farmers who lack crop insurance and would see little benefit from insurance-linked measures.
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