An agreement was signed on 28/8/2020 between our bank, as a financial intermediary, and the European Investment Fund (EIF) within the portfolio fund under the label “European agricultural fund for rural development”, with the decision No. 1891/4.6.2019 of the Ministers of Economy and Development and Rural Development and Food (Government Gazette 2197B 7.6.2019).
This
financial transaction benefits from the guarantee granted under the
ESIF EAFRD Greece Fund of Funds, which is financed by funds provided by the
Hellenic Republic, the European Union under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development (EAFRD), and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The
objective of the ESIF EAFRD Greece
Fund of Funds is to support final recipients acting in the agricultural
sector in obtaining access to finance that is necessary for the
development of their businesses, on preferential terms. Moreover, the purpose of the ESIF EAFRD Greece Fund of Funds is to contribute to the economic
development of Greece, through the creation of new jobs in the
agricultural sector and the development of the Greek rural areas.
The agricultural development guarantee fund is co-financed by the Hellenic Republic, the European Union under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Europe is investing in rural areas.
Programm Beneficiaries : : individuals and legal entities who meet the eligibility criteria and have either joined:
the 4.1.4 action “Implementation of investments that contribute to the competitiveness of the holding through financial instruments (F.I.)” or
the 4.2.4 action “Processing, marketing and development with a final product within Annex I (agricultural product) through financial instruments (F.I.)” of the 4.1 sub-measures “Support for investments in agricultural holdings” and 4.2 “Support for investments in processing / marketing and/or development of agricultural products”, of measure 4 “Investments in tangible assets of RDP 2014-2020” of the Rural Development Program 2014 -2020.
Guaranteed Portfolio amount: up to €10.000.000
Program availability period: 36 months from the signing of the agreement
Guarantee rate: 80%
Transfer of Benefit to Final Recipients: The guarantee is provided for the purpose of enhancing access to financing for final recipients, with benefits, such as better interest rate and cost pricing, reduced securities and longer repayment period.
The program can finance the same participation of the investment projects of beneficiaries that have joined the actions 4.1.4 and 4.2.4.
Working capital financing may also be included in the portfolio, if they are part of the business plan of the investment.
The amount of working capital can reach up to 30% of the eligible investment budget and with a maximum amount of 200,000€.
Minimum Financing Amount: €10.000
Maximum financing period: 15 years with maturity date of guarantees on 31/12/2035
Minimum financing period: 12 months
Interest rate: a benefit is provided by reducing the interest rate by 20% compared to the interest rate we provide on similar financing.
Costs: a benefit is provided by reducing costs by 20%, compared to those provided in the bank’s price list.
Collaterals: for financing less than 250,000€ only personal guarantees are allowed. Financing from 250,000€ and above can be secured with additional collaterals at a rate that will not exceed 20% of the amount of financing.
Financing format:
Amortising loans
Fixed capital amortisation loans
one-off working capital financing
working capital through revolving credit acounts or through overdraft accounts.
Eligible persons Eligibility criteria for beneficiaries / final recipients :
Eligible final recipients may be individuals engaged in an economic activity or legal entities established and operating in Greece and are small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), that:
Are economically viable and have not been included in a rescue or restructuring / consolidation process
They have not been subject to insolvency, bankruptcy or other similar proceedings, to collective insolvency proceedings, nor do they meet the criteria to be subject to collective insolvency proceedings, bankruptcy proceedings or other similar proceedings at the request of creditors
They are not be in an Exclusion Situation
The natural person on his/her own, or in the case of a legal person, his/her representatives or people who make decisions or exercise control over it, have not been convicted of an offense concerning the exercise of their professional duties by a court decision, which has the force of res judicata, which will affect the ability to fulfill the obligations under the program contract
No court decision valid for fraud, corruption, participation in a criminal organization, money laundering or any other illegal activity, which is detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union has been issued against the individual, or in the case of a legal person, against his/her representatives or people who make decisions or exercise control over it
They do not operate in Prohibited Sectors, as listed below
The program includes only new financing, related to a financially viable investment plan, which will cover eligible costs (tangible and intangible fixed assets, working capital and general expenses) and payments of eligible costs made after submitting the request for financing to the bank. Exceptionally, expenditure relating to general investment costs (fees for engineers and consultants, fees for environmental and financial sustainability advice and costs for feasibility studies), paid by the beneficiary prior to the submission of the application, may be financed.
Eligible costs include:
the acquisition of second-hand equipment and machinery
VAT on eligible expenses
live animals and annual and perennial plants and their planting
the purchase of land up to 10% of the total eligible expenses of the investment
the transfer of property rights related to the business
new establishments of meat (excluding poultry) and island slaughterhouses
new poultry slaughterhouse facilities in mountainous areas and islands
investments in energy production if their production capacity does not exceed the operating needs of the business.
Non eligible:
aid for the sale of non-agricultural products by farmers
aid for processing non-agricultural products
aid for genetically modified products
fines, financial penalties, legal and court costs, insurance premiums, financial charges and tariffs
investment projects falling under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Regulation
expenses related to leases
creation of new olive oil mills
activities that constitute financial transactions
real estate development activities when undertaken as a financial investment activity
the provision of consumer credit
the restructuring or refinancing of an existing debt
pre-financing of grants.
The investments to be financed should not be completed or fully implemented at the date of approval of the financing.
The investments that will be financed must be located in Greece
Financing should not fund illegal activities or artificial arrangements aimed at tax evasion
Beneficiaries may also receive support from another European Union funded program, provided that the combination complies with European Union rules and that the total aid does not exceed the total amount of the costs involved.
Professional farmers, which a)in case of individuals, are the head of the agricultural holding and b) in case of legal entities, the main activity should be the practice of agriculture or
Young farmers approved in sub-measure 6.1 “establishment of young farmers” of the RDP or
Social Cooperative Businesses (S.C.B.) or
Collective farmer associations such as agricultural cooperatives, producer groups and associations of organizations.
The final recipients, other than collective agricultural associations, must have applied for support from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), under Regulation 1307/2013.
It is pointed out that in order to join the program, it is sufficient to have previously submitted the aforementioned application without having to have already been approved.
The economic size of the final recipient unit (excluding collective farms) should be greater than 8,000€, in terms of standard production (estimated with reference to data submitted to the most recently processed application).
In order to prove the above, the following documents have to be submitted :
For professional farmers: Certificate of registration in the Register of Farmers and Agricultural Holdings
For legal entities whose main activity is the practice of agriculture: Certificate of commencement of work from the competent Tax Office
For young farmers: A copy of the decision to join sub-measure 6.1 of the RDP
For S.C.B.: Certificate of registration in the Register of Social and Solidarity Economy Bodies
For Collective Agricultural Associations: Certificate of registration in the National Register of Agricultural Cooperatives and other collective bodies
Proof of application for support from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), under Regulation 1307/2013
Investments that are eligible for support under action 4.2.4 should be related to the processing, marketing and development of agricultural products in one of the following sectors: Note: eligible sectors refer to the subject of the investment and not to the final recipient)
Meat (indicatively: slaughterhouses for cattle, poultry, pigs, lambs and goats, meat and meat products production, sausage production units, animal by-products processing plants)
Milk (indicatively: milk processing and production of dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt)
Eggs (indicatively: egg packaging)
Beekeeping, Sericulture (silk production) and Snail farming
Foods (indicatively: production of feed mixtures for the breeding of pets as well as animals used for fur production)
Cereals (indicatively: production of flour, drying of cereals)
Oil Products (excluding the creation of new olive oil mills)
Wine
Fruits and vegetables
Flowers (indicatively: flower packaging and marketing)
Medicinal and Aromatic plants
Seeds and Propagating Material
Vinegar (indicatively: production of vinegar from wine, fruit and other agricultural raw materials)
Caution: The following must be met in order to be included in the portfolio:
each one of the beneficiaries / final recipients eligibility criteria
each one of the financing / transaction eligibility criteria
each one of the portfolio eligibility criteria
each one of the 4.1.4 and 4.2.4 actions’ eligibility criteria
Any activity, trade or production that is illegal under the law
the production of and trade in tobacco and distilled alcoholic beverages and related products
the production of and trade in weapons and ammunition
casinos and related activities.
Research or development of applications related to electronic data programs associated with the above prohibited areas, online gambling and pornography or intended to enable the illegal entry into electronic data networks or download of electronic data.
Activities related to human cloning or genetically modified organisms.
You may visit one of our branches for additional information.
The Agricultural Guarantee Fund is co-financed by the Hellenic Republic, the European Union (EAFRD) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Europe invests in rural areas.
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