Subventions in Romania for young farmers installed and a newly settled farmers ( intervention DR-12)

Submitted by frjacobs on Fri, 07/12/2024 - 13:28

The long-awaited intervention DR-12, one of the novelties brought by the National Strategic Plan 2023-2027, will be launched this year! Through it, young established farmers will be able to benefit from a financing of 200,000 euros/farm, with an intensity of 80%. These measure describes subventions for young farmers in Romania.

At the last meeting held by the Minister of Agriculture with the representatives of the Save the Romanian Peasant Union, it seems that the possibility of launching the DR-12 funding line in November of this year was discussed. The total budget of the intervention will be 169,589,647 euros.

In order to benefit from this funding, the young farmers must have completed the installation project (submeasure 6.1 of the 2014-2020 PNDR), i.e. implemented the business plan and received the second installment of money.

It is important to mention the fact that farmers over 45 years of age, but who are recently installed, i.e. they are not more than 5 years old from the installation of farm heads, will also be able to benefit from this financing. In their case, the support intensity will be only 65%.

Budget Details

The DR12 investment strategy is allocated a substantial budget of 169,589,647.00 euros. Each project under this initiative can receive up to 200,000 euros, with an average funding of 180,000 euros per project.

For the year 2023 the allocation was 0, and for 2024 the same, but will be allocated 67.835.859,00 euro in 2025 (378 beneficiary) and 101.753.788,00 euro in 2026 (566 beneficiary).

Description of the Intervention

This intervention is addressed to young farmers installed through PNDR 2014-2020 including transition (according to art. 19 para. (1) Reg. (EU) no. 1305/2013) and to those recently installed (in the last 5 years from the time of submitting the application of financing), in order to consolidate their farms, effective management, in order to increase the viability of the farms. As part of the intervention, investments will be supported in order to obtain primary agricultural production, investments in conditioning and/or storage, processing of agricultural products at the farm level in order to increase the added value of one's own primary agricultural products.

On-farm processing will be addressed in this intervention as a secondary component of the investment project. Conditioning and/or storage facilities will allow agricultural products to be kept in optimal conditions and will provide a better positioning of farmers in the supply chain. This one intervention contributes to encouraging young farmers or farmers recently installed to facilitate access to capital, strengthen the activities of agricultural holdings, renew generations in agriculture, thus reducing the exodus of young people to urban areas or outside the borders. Thus, the installation support granted must be reflected in the structural balance of the holdings managed by the young farmers by continuing their activity, and this intervention will facilitate the consolidation and increase of the competitiveness of their holdings. Ensuring the continuity of the support given to this segment responds secondarily to the environmental and social objectives, on the achievement of which the functioning and revitalization of rural areas depend.

Under this intervention, simple purchases of high-performance agricultural machinery are eligible, including equipment for proper manure management. In addition, the promotion of innovative techniques and technologies is considered, all the more so since the segment of beneficiaries to whom the intervention is addressed is that of young farmers who show openness to innovation, precision agriculture. From the perspective of better risk management, the intervention will also contribute to promoting farmers' access to the use of techniques and technologies to manage the risks caused by extreme phenomena in the context of climate change.

Eligible beneficiaries for subventions in Romania

Young farmers who have completed the implementation of the business plan under submeasure 6.1 of the 2014-2020 PNDR, including transition;
Farmers who have settled no more than 5 years before submitting the application for support for this intervention, who are up to 45 years old at the time of submitting the funding application and are heads of the farm.
!!!Natural persons are not eligible.

Eligible investments

Are eligible investments physical investments related to:

constructions (new and/or modernization), including protected spaces for agricultural crops, with the equipment and utilities necessary for carrying out the agricultural activity and/or the conditioning and/or storage facilities for the agricultural products obtained at the farm level, the capacity of which will correlate with the production capacity of the farm;
investments in the establishment and modernization of fruit farms, including the establishment and conversion of fruit plantations; • establishment, expansion and/or modernization of conditioning and/or storage units;
the establishment, expansion and/or modernization of processing units at the farm level, including related equipment, only as a secondary component of the project (from a financial point of view);
the purchase, including through leasing, of agricultural machinery, technological trailers and semi-trailers (specialized for agricultural activity, including those used to obtain the fodder base) and high-performance equipment, including those for the management/use of fertilizers and/or plant protection products;
the establishment/development of the commercialization/marketing component at farm level, including the shops at the farm gate or food trailers through which exclusively own agricultural products will be marketed), only as a secondary component of the project;
establishment/modernization of facilities related to ensuring hygiene and biosecurity at the farm level, as a secondary component;
early warning equipment and systems for adverse weather phenomena as well as other equipment to reduce the effects of adverse weather phenomena, as a secondary component;
machinery and equipment for the production and/or distribution of fodder as feed for farm animals;
the use of digital solutions for the practice of precision agriculture;
the establishment and/or modernization of access roads within the farm, including utilities and connections, only as a secondary component of the project
new investments as well as the modernization of irrigation equipment at farm level only as a secondary component of the project;
the production and use of energy (electrical and/or thermal) from renewable sources (solar, wind, aerothermal, hydrothermal, geothermal, etc.), as a secondary component of an investment project, and the energy obtained will be intended exclusively for own consumption, without the applicant has the capacity of prosumer;
investments that contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions (secondary component of the project), related to: o improving the energy efficiency of buildings where an eligible activity is carried out within the intervention; o the purchase of equipment/machinery with low energy consumption, as well as other investments that contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions; o investments in the circular economy such as: a) the production and use of renewable energy from the utilization of biomass (e.g. from waste from animals/vegetable residues of cultivated plants, secondary products and by-products), and the result will be intended exclusively for own consumption; b) obtaining organic fertilizers from the utilization of biomass (e.g. from waste from animals/vegetable residues of cultivated plants, secondary products and by-products), and the result will be intended exclusively for own consumption.

Are eligibile also, investments in intangible assets for:

Organization and implementation of quality management and food safety systems, if they are related to physical investments of the project;
Acquisition of technologies (know‐how), patents and licenses for the preparation of project implementation;
The purchase of software, identified as necessary in the technical-economic documentation of the project;
Marketing of the obtained products, etc.

Conclusion for subventions in Romania

The DR12 investment strategy, with its focus on financial support through sub-measure 6.1, has been instrumental in addressing some of these challenges. This strategy has facilitated the development of agricultural holdings, thereby increasing income and enhancing the quality of life for young farmers over the long term. Additionally, subsidies provided under various government and local initiatives have enabled young farmers to improve productivity, adopt new technologies, and implement environmentally friendly practices.

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