Andorra Boosts Meadow Mowing Subsidies 20% to €481K for 2026

The Andorran government has approved a 20% increase in subsidies for meadow mowing, bringing the total for 2026 to €481,578, up from €403,727 the previous year.

This funding supports agricultural operations that handle mowing and maintenance of valley-floor meadows used to produce forage. The rise stems from updated calculation criteria introduced in a 2025 decree on traditional mountain livestock practices, meadow mowing, improvement plans, and specific agronomic measures for natural habitat upkeep, along with inflation adjustments tied to the consumer price index. Key changes include accounting for heifers aged 13 to 24 months and heavy-breed mare foals aged 13 to 36 months, better aligning aid with current farm realities and recognizing herders' role in land management.

Environment, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Guillem Casal emphasized the government's commitment to these vital sectors, which help preserve landscapes, biodiversity, and territorial balance. The subsidies promote local forage for Andorra-reared livestock while aiding open-space conservation, mountain ecosystem diversity, and forest fire prevention.

Overall agricultural and livestock aid for the year now totals €4.1 million, aimed at ensuring farm viability, generational renewal, and the environmental contributions of sector professionals.

In a related move, the government allocated €21,036 from a €30,000 budget to fund eight protection and monitoring projects against damage from protected wildlife, mainly brown bears, in bovine, ovine, equine, and beekeeping operations. This marks the first call for such grants, complementing 2024 regulations on compensating wildlife-related losses.

Funded measures include fixed and mobile electric perimeter fences, surveillance cameras, motion detectors, monitoring systems, and other deterrents. Individual grants ranged from €2,140 to €3,000. Casal noted no compensation claims were needed this year and confirmed the program's continuation in the 2027 budget, alongside initiatives like GPS collars fitted to livestock in the Madriu Valley this summer.