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One Billion Euros in Drought Damages for Austrian Agriculture
🇦🇹 Austria /Environment & Climate

One Billion Euros in Drought Damages for Austrian Agriculture

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Austrian farmers face record drought-related damages totaling one billion euros, according to the Hagelversicherung.
  • Nearly all crops are affected, with significant impacts on grain and corn harvests.
  • The insurance data will inform the government's agricultural aid package.

Austria's agricultural sector is grappling with unprecedented drought-related losses, estimated at a staggering one billion euros, the Hagelversicherung (hail insurance) company reported.

The extreme heat and dry conditions have severely impacted nearly all crops across the country. Grain cultivation has been particularly hard-hit, and a below-average harvest is also anticipated for the corn still standing in fields.

The insured farms thus have a legal claim to compensation.

— Kurt WeinbergerCEO of Hagelversicherung, explaining the implications of the drought damage for insured farmers.

According to the Hagelversicherung, 80 percent of arable land and 40 percent of grassland are insured against drought. "Insured farms thus have a legal claim to compensation," stated Kurt Weinberger, CEO of Hagelversicherung, during a press conference in Vienna.

Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) described the drought damage figures as a "central basis" for the federal government and states' decisions regarding a planned aid package for farmers. The extensive damage underscores the vulnerability of the agricultural sector to climate change and extreme weather events.

The drought damage figures are a central basis for the federal government and states' decisions regarding a planned aid package for farmers.

— Norbert TotschnigAustrian Agriculture Minister on the significance of the insurance company's damage assessment.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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