Agricultural bonus: how much money can be obtained for sunflowers?

Increasing agriculture income with sunflower plantations

Would you like to receive agricultural bonuses for your sunflower plantations? How much money is allocated for this cultivation? How to apply and what to pay attention to?

Sunflower is the quintessential summer flower, not only a visually pleasing product that attracts tourists and ensures a good seed production, but also a cultivation eligible for CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) 2023-2027 aid.

It is important to note that the subsidies are intended for seed sunflower plantations, not ornamental ones.

Direct payments and coupled support for sunflowers

For sunflower crops, access to direct payments with coupled support is possible, let’s see what it entails and how much can be received.

Agricultural bonuses, how much money is available for sunflowers?

The regions where oil sunflower cultivation is most common are Marche, Tuscany, and Emilia Romagna.
Despite this diffusion, production still falls below Italy’s needs.

The increase in oil prices in 2022 led many to try this particular cultivation.
Currently, the price fluctuates between €370 and €390 per ton.
Although the price reached a peak of €700 per ton in 2022, there is still not enough interest in this cultivation.

Sunflower cultivation can be considered environmentally friendly due to its moderate water requirements.
The plant’s deep root system can extract water from the soil, producing a low dry matter quantity per hectare, about 10,000 kg.

Thanks to its leaf structure, sunflowers resist pests well, requiring minimal care and pesticides.

Agricultural bonuses for sunflower cultivation

Remember that all farmers can access the Basic Payments provided by the CAP, along with specific aids for individual crops.
The New CAP includes sunflowers among the eligible crops for Ecological Focus Areas 4 and 5.

The first provides a prize of around €110 for farmers who commit to introducing leguminous species, fodder, or renewal crops in their crop rotation.
However, to receive this contribution, certified seeds must be used, and the cultivation must be related to a supply contract.

The second scheme grants €500 per hectare to growers who dedicate 25% of their land to bee-friendly species, including sunflowers.
This coverage is “set-aside,” as it should not be harvested until the end of the cycle to provide a food source for pollinating insects.

Access to sunflower subsidies is only granted after completing the production cycle, which is relatively short, around 145 days from sowing.

In addition to CAP aids, additional grants are available from the Government with Decree 63 of 2024.

How to apply for agricultural bonuses for sunflowers?

Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry Decree No.
341205 has extended the deadline for submitting applications to access CAP benefits until August 30, 2024.

However, there is an additional deadline, beyond the expiration date, with reduced amounts available.
The application with reduced funding can be submitted until September 24.
For each day of delay, there is a 1% reduction.
The same deadline applies to relevant supporting documents (seed invoices, variety tags, etc.), contracts, or declarations.

The application for the sunflower cultivation agricultural bonus can be submitted at any assistance center (CAA) nationwide and at the local Agea offices (Agency for Agricultural Payments).