Agriculture minister promises farmers compensation in wake of catastrophic frost damage

The state will compensate farmers for the huge losses caused by last week’s severe frosts, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný said in an interview for Czech Radio. He said he is counting on an allocation of at least CZK 70 to 100 million, for fruit growers and vineyard owners, many of whom are now at risk of going out of business. In Bohemia, the frosts damaged almost the entire fruit harvest and vineyards, in Moravia it was over 50 percent. The losses, which are unprecedented in the last 100 years, are expected to exceed CZK 2 billion. The minister said that while the state cannot afford to compensate farmers fully, it wants to help them survive.