In 1998, about 117,000 hectares, or 5 per cent, of all arable land were used for organic farming or were in the process of being converted for the purpose. The national subsidies paid from Finnish public funds were decided on during the Finnish membership negotiations. Payment is on a per-hectare basis and according to the number of livestock, and partly takes the form of production aid. Aid is regionally graded on a declining scale. Horticultural producers are entitled to storage aid, per-hectare aid for products grown in the open, and aid for greenhouse products.
Aid is dimensioned so that agricultural and horticultural production in Finland can be safeguarded.
While sheep farmers, beef cattle farmers and rye growers facing difficulties receive the maximum amounts specified by the European Commission, aid for other products is usually below this upper limit. National transitional aid paid in 1995-1999 has helped Finnish agriculture and horticulture to adjust to the common agricultural policy. Up to 1998, EU shouldered some of the transitional costs borne by Finland. The fact that transitional aid remains at a relatively high level is explained by the solution concerning aid for serious difficulties, which is based on Article 141 of the Finnish Treaty of Accession. National livestock subsidy for southern Finland is paid in the form of supplementary transitional aid.