The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management in Serbia will be awarding €20 million for competitive agriculture facilities in the country by selecting projects through 3 separate calls under a 3-year joint initiative with the World Bank. Total value of the project titled Competitive Agriculture Project in Serbia is €38 million. Adding solar PV technology to the agricultural projects, among renewables, also qualifies for these grants.
It launched the 1st of these calls in April 2021-end, and said the remaining 2 calls will be launched in July 2021 and October 2021.
Under the 1st call, beneficiaries will be able to receive grants covering an amount of up to 50% of total investment, while 40% will be financed from loans through banks participating in the project, along with 10% equity investment by the beneficiaries.
Participating farmers will receive all the money in advance, but the project needs to be pre-approved. Interested projects can expect to avail a minimum of €10,000 to a maximum of €25,000 for registered agricultural households. For small and medium enterprises (SME), the award limit is between €12,500 to €200,000.
The ministry will dole out this money to cover cost towards purchase and installation of efforts that go towards making a project competitive, while enhancing their income. This call will cover agricultural projects for the production of fruits, vegetables, grapes and flowers.
Agriculture Minister Branislav Nedimović said, "Among the priority beneficiaries are women, young farmers and those working in less developed or poor municipalities."
As per the tender announcement, applications can be submitted between May 5, 2021 and June 4, 2021.