Lisbon, Feb. 16, 2026 (Lusa) - The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, will visit farms in the municipalities of Leira and Pombal on Tuesday that were affected by the storms that hit Portugal, the Ministry of Agriculture and Sea announced on Monday.
In a statement, the ministry said that the visit comes after the Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Affairs, José Manuel Fernandes, invited the commissioner to visit the areas heavily affected by the storms, and Portugal requested the European Commission to activate the crisis reserve for agriculture, a mechanism with a total annual allocation for the European Union of €450 million.
The European Commissioner for Agriculture will meet with the Minister of Agriculture and then visit the area, which will allow him to ‘see the extent of the damage caused by the storms,’ according to the ministry.
On 5 February, José Manuel Fernandes sent a letter to the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, requesting the activation of the agricultural crisis reserve.
The request to Christophe Hansen came in response to preliminary estimates that, at the time, pointed to losses of around €500 million in the agricultural sector due to bad weather. In addition, €275 million was added to this figure from the forestry sector.
The EU agricultural reserve allows for a rapid response to crises affecting agricultural production or distribution and has an annual budget of €450 million.
Meanwhile, on 9 February, the European Commission confirmed that it had received Lisbon's request to urgently activate the agricultural reserve fund and said it was still analysing the request and the situation on the ground, given the bad weather and its consequences.
The Regulation on the common organisation of the markets provides for exceptional measures, such as activating the reserve, which may be taken to prevent market disturbances and exceptional events affecting production or distribution, and to mitigate their consequences.
Sixteen people died in Portugal as a result of the Kristin, Leonardo and Marta storms, which also left many hundreds injured and homeless.
The total or partial destruction of homes, businesses and equipment, the fall of trees and structures, the closure of roads, schools and transport services, and the cutting of power, water and communications, floods and inundations are the main material consequences of the storm.
The Centro, Lisbon and Tagus Valley and Alentejo regions are the most affected.
The Government declared a state of emergency for 68 municipalities, which ended on Sunday, and announced support measures worth up to €2.5 billion.
PLI/ADB // ADB.
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