Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – A funding program by the Hessian state government for the digitization of agriculture got off to a rather slow start last year. Funds of 269,500 euros were requested in 2021, and 57,409 euros in 2022 (as of March 2022), as the Ministry of the Environment announced in response to a parliamentary inquiry from the FDP parliamentary group in Wiesbaden. Of this, around 54,600 euros could have been paid out in 2021, this year no money had flowed until March.
“Experience has shown that the introduction of a new funding program requires a longer start-up phase,” explained the ministry. In addition, the delivery times for the technology were longer in some cases due to the corona pandemic. As a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment explained, further subsidies have now been paid out with the release of new budget funds. Farmers can use this to buy software, for example, to use fertilizers and pesticides more precisely.
