Romania's EU funds for milking robots and farm automation
Milking robots, feeding robots and other farm automation systems are equipment farmers will be able to buy with the help of EU digitisation funds. The Minister for European Investments and Projects (MIPE), Marcel Bolos, announced which financial instruments will benefit farmers this year through the National Resilience and Recovery Programme (NRRP).
Agricultural producers and livestock farmers who want to invest in farm automation will receive funds from a budget of €150 million, up to a ceiling of €3 million/project. Agriculture will also be among the sectors benefitting of financial instruments worth €400 million for private equity investments, i.e. holding shares in private companies.
The Minister for European Investment and Projects explained that the guide for the €150 million budget is in public debate and will most likely be officially launched in June. He also explained that the money would go to farmers in the form of co-financing, through grants of maximum 70%. "Co-financing we can give within the limit of state aid grants, which is available everywhere in the European Union. Of course if it is a small-medium enterprise, then the grant goes up to 70% and the difference is co-financing. So this would be, let's say, a first line of funding," the minister elaborated.
The second line of funding that MIPE is preparing concerns financial instruments for agriculture. The financial allocation will be €400 million and the money will be granted in the form of private equity investments. "The second line of financing would be financial instruments. It may sound strange to some people, and wonder what financial instruments have to do with agriculture? There are €400 million that we can allocate in the form of private equity investments. We are in the process of selecting investment funds," Marcel Bolos told TVR 1's Agrostrategia programme.
The Minister for European Investment and Projects explained in detail what private equity means and how this type of financing will help Romanian farmers. "Private equity means buying shares in companies that are not yet listed on the stock exchange, which is important. So it doesn't have to be, let's say, a sale of shares in which the fund becomes the majority shareholder, but only a part of them and with that money one can finance the development of the company, the farm. But it is money that stays, there is no interest on it. There are 20 investment funds that must be selected according to the NRRP, but we impose on them that these areas concerning agriculture and the agri-food industry are mandatory, in order to look for those companies in the economy that are either already profitable or have a very high market potential […]. There are many areas for which it will be applied, from production, from industry but agriculture cannot be excluded. Probably from autumn we will have the whole portfolio of investment funds selected" the minister added.
Source: www.agrointel.ro