The calls for EU funded projects launched lately by the Romanian paying agency AFIR seem to have very different outcomes: for some topics (vegetables, potatoes) funds have been exhausted almost instantly, for others (forest belts) it looks like there is not much interest, at least for the time being.
Funds for vegetable and potato projects prove to be insufficient
For investment projects in the vegetable and potato sectors, the so-called measure DR-16, applications have exceeded the available budget by 240%. Between January 19 and February 2, 2026, 251 projects with a total value of €358.5 million were submitted online to the Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR), via the www.afir.ro platform for DR-16. The total budget allocated for this session was €151.38 million.
AFIR Director General Adrian Chesnoiu said that the huge interest reconfirms the need to modernize farms in Romania. "We have received funding requests amounting to 240% of the allocation available for investments in the vegetable and potato sector. This is a clear argument for the need to continue and increase the funding provided by the European Commission so that we can ensure the sustainable development of the agri-food industry," he said.
The call for projects had to close after five days only (for two components)
The DR-16 intervention was launched on January 19, 2026, but for two of the components, "Vegetables - individual farms" and "Potatoes," the session had to be closed only five days after it opened, because the maximum submission limit had been exceeded by far. For the "Vegetables - individual farms" component, with an allocation of €70 million, 132 funding applications totalling €209 million were submitted. For the "Potato" component, the allocation of €51 million was exceeded, as the 94 projects submitted in the first five days were worth over €103 million. For the "Vegetables - associative forms " component, where the budget was €30 million, 25 projects were submitted, with a total value of €45 million.
Potatoes, a "special" crop with structural problems
"We are talking about a measure that was eagerly awaited by the vegetable and potato sector in Romania, but with insufficient allocation compared to actual needs. In the case of potatoes alone, we are talking about approximately 50 million euros, an amount that is far too small to remedy the structural problems of this crop," believes Bogdan Chiripuci, Manager of Agricultural Policies and Programs at the Romanian Farmers' Club.
Besides tackling the specifics of this crop, Chiripuci also spoke about the lack of infrastructure essential for the development of the potato sector. He said this refers to the lack of storage space, the need for irrigation, which has become essential even in areas such as Harghita and Covasna (traditional areas for potato cultivation), and the expansion of cultivation into new regions. "This is the first such measure, from the EU pre-accession time till 2026, which provides a separate allocation for the potato sector. Until now, potatoes were treated as vegetables and were subject to competition that did not favour them. Now we have a separate allocation, but it is very small," he added.
Chiripuci also drew attention to changing consumer behaviour. Whereas in the past households bought sacks of potatoes to store over the winter, today consumers prefer small packages purchased from retailers, which require modern warehouses and an adapted logistics infrastructure.
Currently, approximately 33,000-35,000 hectares of land are registered with APIA as being cultivated with potatoes in Romania, compared to 280,000-300,000 hectares in the early 1990s. "We can only meet domestic demand through public policies tailored to this crop, which is very special," says Bogdan Chiripuci.
New call for projects with zero interest
At the opposite side, the funding line for non-productive on-farm investments, intended in particular for the setting up of forest belts (wind-breaks), has not attracted any projects from farmers so far. The call for projects for intervention DR-19 “Non-productive investments at farm level” was launched on March 3, 2026, but in the first two weeks after the call was opened, no projects had yet been submitted on the platform of AFIR. This situation is surprising, especially given that funding from the 2023-2027 National Strategic Plan (NSP) is usually eagerly awaited by the agricultural sector.
Intervention DR-19 targets non-productive investments at farm level, i.e. investments that do not directly generate income but contribute to environmental protection and increase the resilience of agricultural holdings.
The main component of this intervention is the establishment of protective forest belts at farm level, which serve to reduce the effects of wind on crops, limit soil erosion, conserve soil moisture, and contribute to increased biodiversity. Such investments are considered particularly important in areas frequently affected by drought and soil degradation, where forest belts can play a significant role in protecting agricultural production.
Insufficient timely information might be the cause
The lack of projects submitted in the first days of the session could be explained by the fact that farmers and consultants are still in the process of analyzing the financing conditions.
The establishment of forest belts requires technical planning, specific documentation, and compliance with conditions related to location and species, aspects that can prolong the project preparation period.
The maximum value of the non-reimbursable aid reaches 200,000 euros/farm, with a support intensity of 100%. In practice, farmers do not have to provide co-financing, as the entire investment will be covered by European funds.
It remains to be seen whether, in the coming period, farmers will begin to submit projects to AFIR for DR-19, as consultants finalize the necessary documentation and analyze the opportunity to access this funding.