The Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) has increased the available funds by 20.84 million euros for Sub-measure 6.1 "Support for the installation of young farmers" under the National Rural Development Program 2014-2020 (PNDR 2020). Following the publication of supplementary selection reports on www.afir.ro, AFIR has initiated the notification procedure to contract projects that are on the list of eligible but unfunded projects, which were previously on hold.

Funding for Young Farmers

According to the supplementary selection reports for the 2021 session, 484 young farmers will receive funding, of which 394 are from non-mountain areas, with the total public value of submitted projects amounting to 16.72 million euros. Additionally, 90 young farmers from mountain areas will receive funds totaling 4.11 million euros to establish themselves as farmers.

Eligibility Conditions

Selected projects will be funded subject to meeting minimum eligibility conditions. To be eligible for contracting, applicants must be registered with the National Trade Register Office (ONRC) and the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture (APIA) under the organizational form through which they requested support, meeting the minimum eligible size, and the minimum threshold expressed in Standard Output (S.O.) as approved in the 2021 selection report.

Another condition is that the applicant must not be selected for funding through other sub-measures or interventions from PNDR 2020, Transition 2021-2022, and PS 2027, especially through intervention DR-30 in the current programming and similar funding lines to Sub-measure 6.1 within Local Action Groups.

Given that AFIR will make the final payments through PNDR 2020 by December 31, 2025, it is necessary for the applicant to implement the Business Plan by no later than September 30, 2025.

Implementation and Financing

If, upon verification by AFIR experts, it is found that the eligibility conditions are not met, the respective projects will be considered as non-contracted and will not receive funding.

The support provided through Sub-measure 6.1 is 100% non-reimbursable, with funding ranging from 40,000 euros to 70,000 euros, depending on the size of the farm and the type of proposed investment, and is provided in two installments based on a business plan.

After completing all procedural steps of notifying applicants and administrative checks, the projects submitted by young farmers will enter the contracting phase.

The supplementary selection reports can be consulted on www.afir.ro in the Reports section by accessing the link Selection – NEW AFIR Portal - PS PAC information, Online submission.