From 6 October 2026, eligible farmers can apply for funding to strengthen their holdings through intervention DR-12 under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027. Applications must be submitted online through the AFIR system, with the submission window opening at 09:00 and closing on 2 December 2026 at 16:00.

The funding round has a budget of €169,589,647, divided equally between the livestock sector and other agricultural sectors, with €84,794,823.50 allocated to each component. Non-repayable support can reach €200,000 per project. The maximum funding rate is 80% of eligible costs for young farmers aged up to 40 and 65% for other eligible categories.

Which investments can be funded

The intervention supports the modernisation of agricultural holdings, the purchase of high-performance agricultural machinery and equipment, and investment in facilities for preparing agricultural produce for sale and storing it. Eligible investments include specialised machinery for forage production, relevant to livestock farms, as well as investment in fruit growing.

On-farm processing, including the associated equipment, can be funded only as a secondary component of the project. The capacity of facilities for preparing or storing produce must be aligned with the holding’s production capacity. These provisions are important for farmers seeking to add value to their output through additional on-farm activities.

Eligibility and application timetable

According to AFIR’s announcement, eligible categories include farmers aged up to 40 who are heads of their holdings, farmers aged up to 45, and beneficiaries of sub-measure 6.1 under the National Rural Development Programme (PNDR), regardless of their age at the time of application. Each applicant’s eligibility must be checked against the Applicant’s Guide.

For both components, the minimum quality score for submission is 80 points from 6 October to 5 November and 45 points from 6 November to 2 December 2026.

A useful addition when preparing the application documents is AFIR’s clarification of 2 October: the procedural check concerning whether straightforward purchases of machinery and equipment exceed 50% of the eligible value of a complex project does not apply to intervention DR-12. The agency explains that the ceiling for public support does not vary according to the type of project.

The guide, annexes and forms are available in the DR-12 section of the AFIR website. Applicants must use the latest published version of the funding application form.

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