Polish farmers worried about subsidies: system glitches disrupted the application process

As the deadline for submitting applications for subsidies for fertilisers and agricultural fuel in Poland approached, thousands of farmers encountered technical difficulties with the online system. On 23 October, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture announced that more than 358,000 applications had already been received, but some farmers had encountered difficulties in submitting their documents on time. Despite calls from farmers’ organisations, the Ministry did not confirm at the time that the application deadline would be extended.

According to data from the Polish Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARiMR), by 23 October, 204,751 applications for fuel cost compensation and 153,807 applications for the purchase of mineral fertilisers had been received. The total number of applications submitted reached 358,558.

The system experienced glitches when farmers were logging into the portal, verifying their identity and uploading documents supporting their expenses. The agency explained that some of the problems were linked to delays in the delivery of SMS verification codes and increased system load.

The Greater Poland Chamber of Agriculture proposed extending the deadline to 16 November. The agency increased its technical capacity and extended telephone consultation hours until 10.00 pm.

The support is intended to cover expenses incurred between 1 March and 31 August 2026, when farmers were affected by rising prices of fertilisers and energy resources. The first payments are expected at the end of November or in December.