In order to present the procedure for applying for funding dedicated to investments in the vegetable and potato sectors, the Agency for the Financing of Rural Investments (AFIR) has published on www.afir.ro, for informational purposes, the Applicant's Guide for intervention DR-16 - Investments in the vegetable and/or potato sector. The funding is provided by the State Budget and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), implemented in Romania through the 2023-2027 Strategic Plan.

In the coming period, after the re-approval of the selection criteria for the potato component by the Monitoring Committee, the final version of the Applicant's Guide for intervention DR-16 will be issued and published in order to open the application session for funding requests.

The value of the support granted under this new funding line is up to EUR 2,000,000 per project. For projects proposing only the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment for crops other than potatoes, the financing is capped at EUR 300,000 per project.

Additionally, a maximum of EUR 700,000 per project is granted for potato machinery purchased by individual farms, as well as for agricultural equipment purchased by associative forms, regardless of the crop.

The intensity of the non-reimbursable public support is up to 65% of the eligible costs per project.

Eligible beneficiaries for funding through DR-16 are farmers (excluding natural persons) and their associative forms: agricultural cooperatives and cooperative societies serving the interests of their farmer members, as well as producer groups and organizations recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, serving the interests of their members.

Through intervention DR-16, farmers can obtain funding for a range of eligible investments, such as:

• the establishment and development of vegetable and potato farms, as well as on-farm processing units, including related equipment (only as a secondary component of the project from a financial perspective);
• investments in protected spaces and the technical outfitting of farms with agricultural machinery, trailers, and semi-trailers (specialized for vegetable and potato farming);
• the establishment and development of conditioning or storage units;
• the acquisition of equipment and early warning systems for unfavorable weather phenomena, as well as other equipment to mitigate the effects of these phenomena;
• the establishment and modernization of on-farm irrigation equipment, including water storage facilities at farm level (only as a secondary component of the project).

Additionally, the project may include the acquisition of systems for the surveillance, monitoring, and control of crops, spaces, and technological processes within the farm, perimeter lighting systems and lighting for areas where the farm's technological processes take place, weather stations, and security cabins.