Intervention 73.11

Support for Investments in Agricultural Product Processing

Information is provided based on the draft Regulation published on www.esavjetovanje.hr

ANNOUNCEMENT:

2024

SUPPORT:

€15,000 to €3,000,000

ALLOCATION:

€155,771,825

SUPPORT INTENSITY (%):

65%, and it can be increased to 80% for investments related to one or more specific objectives defined in Article 6, paragraph 1, points (d), (e), and (f), and regarding animal welfare, in Article 6, paragraph 1, point (i) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 that exceed mandatory requirements or common practices, and for investments made by young farmers.

ELIGIBLE BENEFICIARIES:

The beneficiary, at the time of applying for support, must be:

• Natural and legal persons registered for the processing of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Agreement, which are the subject of the investment, for at least one year at the time of applying for support and registered in the relevant registers for the trade in animal (including animal feed) or non-animal food, or
• Natural and legal persons who are not registered for the processing of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Agreement, which are the subject of the investment, but have been registered in the Register of Farmers for at least one year at the time of applying for support, except young farmers who can be registered for less than one year in the Register of Farmers at the time of applying for support, or
• Producer organizations recognized in accordance with special regulations governing the operation of producer organizations until the time of applying for support.

Key requirements for the beneficiary:

• A registered legal entity must have at least one employee recorded in the annual financial report of the entrepreneur for the last approved accounting period at the time of applying for support. Young farmer beneficiaries and producer organization beneficiaries must have at least one employed person at the time of applying for support.
• A natural person must be registered in the Register of Taxpayers for any reason for at least one year at the time of applying for support, except for producer organizations and young farmers who may be registered for less than a year.
• Must have settled or regulated financial obligations to the state budget of the Republic of Croatia at the time of applying for support.
• The beneficiary must not be in default for more than 30 days in the last 6 months, of which no more than 15 days consecutively, provided that they are not in default at the time of applying for support.

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS:

1. The investment relates to the production of products listed in Annex I to the EU Agreement.
2. The investment is not intended for compliance with European Union standards.
3. Must have prepared/obtained all necessary documentation in accordance with regulations governing construction and spatial planning, if applicable.
4. Must not have a significant negative impact on the environment and/or the objectives of the ecological network area, or environmental protection measures or measures to mitigate the impact on the objectives of the ecological network area have been implemented if required.
5. Must achieve a minimum number of points (passing threshold).
6. The beneficiary must demonstrate the economic sustainability of the project and the planned sources of project financing.

ELIGIBLE COSTS:

Eligible non-material costs include:

• Purchase or development of computer programs.
• Purchase of rights to patents and licenses.
• Copyrights.
• Trademarks.
• Other non-material costs related to material investment.

Eligible material costs include:

•  
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of facilities for the processing of milk, meat, fruits, vegetables, grapes (excluding wine production), olives, cereals, oilseeds, industrial plants, aromatic, medicinal, herbs, flowers, and fungi, along with the related infrastructure.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of facilities for the processing of products not mentioned in point (a) of this paragraph in Annex I to the Agreement, along with the related infrastructure.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of centers (collection points) for collecting and processing waste, residues from agricultural production, and by-products, along with the related infrastructure.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of other economic buildings, administrative premises with related facilities, equipment, and infrastructure that serve the processing activity.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of facilities for the sale and presentation of their own processed agricultural products, excluding tasting rooms.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of wastewater treatment facilities in processing and marketing, air filtration, and cooling systems, along with the related infrastructure.
• Commercial vehicles, machinery, and equipment.
• Construction/reconstruction and/or equipping of on-farm laboratories for own needs.
• Purchase of land and facilities for project implementation, up to 10% of the total eligible project costs (excluding general costs).

General costs are eligible up to 10% of the total eligible project costs, which include:

• Costs of preparing a business plan eligible up to 1% of the total eligible project costs without general costs but not exceeding €5,000.
• Costs of preparing documentation and/or project implementation eligible up to 1% of the total eligible project costs without general costs but not exceeding €10,000.
• Costs of project-technical documentation, surveying bases, expert reports, and supervision costs eligible in the amount that constitutes the difference between the sum of the costs specified in points (a) and (b) of this Article and the upper limit of 10% of the total eligible project costs without general costs, if applicable.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Company size/number of cooperative members or producer organization members.

• Investment sector.
• Quality systems of agricultural products.
• Development index of the local self-government unit (according to the location of the investment).
• The beneficiary has not used support under Measure 4.2 of the Rural Development Program and/or from this intervention.

OBLIGATIONS FOR THE BENEFICIARY DURING IMPLEMENTATION AND IN THE EX-POST PERIOD:

• Must be registered for the processing of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Agreement, which is the subject of the investment, and be registered in the appropriate registers for the trade in animal (including animal feed) or non-animal food at the latest at the time of submitting the final request for payment and in the ex-post period.
• A registered legal entity must have at least one employee recorded in the annual financial report of the entrepreneur for the last approved accounting period at the time of applying for support.
• A natural person must be registered in the Register of Taxpayers for any reason.
• Must prove professional competence for processing agricultural products in a way that the owner or a member of the family agricultural farm, owner of the craft, or one of the permanently employed in the craft or the responsible person or one of the permanently employed in the legal entity has completed a high school or college in agronomy, veterinary medicine, or biotechnology or has at least 3 years of work experience in processing agricultural products, no later than at the time of submitting the final request for payment and must retain it in the ex-post period.
• Must not reduce the size of the company.
• Must not reduce the number of cooperative members or producer organization members below the lower threshold set for the number of cooperative members or producer organization members for which they have earned points according to the selection criteria.
• Must have settled or regulated financial obligations to the state budget of the Republic of Croatia.
• Must not be in bankruptcy or liquidation.
• The beneficiary must realize eligible costs from the financing agreement in an amount greater than 50%, otherwise, the Paying Agency will issue a decision to reject the request for payment and a decision on the refund of funds.

Note: The information is based on the proposed regulation published on www.esavjetovanje.hr and may be subject to change.