Wine growers to receive financing for reconversion

As of next week, the Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture (APIA) will make the first payments for the reconversion of vineyard plantations, relating to the period 16 October 2008-15 October 2009, announced the institution on Friday.
"So far, APIA has approved a total of 33 applications in amount of about three million euros. The applications have been submitted for works completed this autumn, for an area of 570 hectares," reads a release of the agency.

In the wine-growing year 2007/2008, the Agency paid over 35 million euros for 331 applications, relating to a total area of 4,205 hectares. For the year 2008/2009, for the restructuring and reconversion measure, Romania benefits from a financial allocation of 38 million euros.

"This year we have managed to fully spend both the initial allocation of 25 million euros and the supplement obtained by Romania, of about 10 million. With the help of this financial support, the wine growers have succeeded to restructure the areas under vines and hold young vineyards with varieties from which high-quality wines are obtained, " the general manager of APIA, Dan Gherghelaş, said in the release.
According to the European regulations, payments are made for applications related to the reconversion-restructuring plans, as works are being completed.

Beneficiaries of the aid are winegrowers who want to modernise their plantations on the basis of a restructuring and reconversion plan, whose exploitations are recorded in the Vineyard Register.