According to information from the Ministry of Finance, in the first six months after the launch, 117 agricultural enterprises were financed under the Farm Credit Scheme (FCA) for a total of LE 126.15 million.
Of this amount, 18.11 million lei are grants (of which 2.73 million lei in – August), while 108.04 million lei are loans (of which 20.61 million lei in August).
The program was launched on March 1 this year and will be implemented for 5 years. Its main advantages are access to financing for the purchase of agricultural and post-harvest equipment, grant component – up to 30% of the loan amount; favorable fixed interest rate – 5.1% per annum for the whole loan term. In addition, part of the borrowed funds can be used to replenish working capital required for agricultural activities.
The beneficiaries of the program can benefit from financing for the purchase of equipment for traditional agriculture up to 2 million lei. At the same time, the grant component is envisaged at the level of 5% of the project amount. Up to 3 million lei can be allocated for the purchase of equipment for conservation agriculture – for groups of producers, and up to 2 million lei – for individual beneficiaries. The latter can receive a grant of 15%. And for the purchase of equipment for post-harvest processing (sorting, packaging, bottling, flour milling, fodder production, agricultural presses) – up to 5 million lei can be financed with a 30% grant component. As working capital required within an investment or production project, financing up to 15% of its amount is available, but without the grant component.
In August, beneficiaries invested mainly in machinery – tractors and seeders, as well as in technological lines for fruit and nut processing.
