Spring frost damage could exceed EUR 2.5m
"It is too soon to speak about what measures the state will take, we don't have a real assessment yet... It will be clear in the coming weeks and then we can talk about all possible measures. We really do plan to help farmers," Židan said as he addressed farmers in Prekmurje region.
The damage from the polar front that hit Slovenia last week, bringing late snow and frost, is severe in the heavily agricultural region, according to Franc Režonja of the Agriculture and Forestry Institute.
Plantations, orchards and vineyards in particular have been badly affected and it could take years before plants recover. Some winegrowers will lose all their crops this year, while they also worry about harvests in the coming years.
The east of the country as a whole was hit the hardest, with temperatures 2 degrees Celsius below the rest of the country, president of the Agriculture and Forestry Chamber of Slovenia Cvetko Zupančič added.
Židan, who will meet representatives of agricultural and forestry chambers and institutions on Tuesday, said that the disaster had made the already difficult situation in Slovenian agriculture worse.
The first assessment of the damage will be presented to the government on Thursday and Židan will discuss possible joint measures with his Croatian counterpart Davor Romić on Tuesday.
Vice-President of the Farmers' Trade Union Franc Küčan urged Židan to speed up the payments from the budget-funded environmental programmes to help farmers deal with the damage.