Providing €3bn in European Investment Bank (EIB) loans for the EU's farmers and the bioeconomy has been pitched by the European Commission as one of the measures that has been taken to improve the competitiveness of EU agriculture.
The first loans will be on offer in 2025 and they will be targeted towards young farmers, women farmers and green on-farm investments.
The EIB steps in to provide loans when it is deemed that the private banking sector is not doing so sufficiently, such as when lenders were anxious to extend credit to businesses during Brexit, COVID and Ukraine-related market volatility.
In Ireland, previous EIB packages have been administered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).
New package
The new €3bn package announced for agriculture is the largest ever allocated to the sector and will allow for “favourable loan terms” for farmers and agribusinesses.
This will allow the package to be bolstered by “interest rate subsidies or capital grants under the EU and national budgets”.
Both the lender and European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen have said that the EU’s farms are not getting the investment they need to ensure generational renewal, gender equality in farming and a quick enough climate transition.
“We have an enormous investment gap and this investment gap is hampering the innovation that is so much needed to be competitive, but also to achieve our climate and environmental goals,” Commissioner Hansen commented last week.
“We will closely work with the EIB to make sure that this financing opportunity is taken up on the ground and delivers results. Together, we're securing a sustainable future for the sector.”
Returning as Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen has said that rectifying the lagging competitiveness of the EU relative to global players, particularly China and the US, will be a key focus of the new Commission.
“Young people need the right incentives to enter this noble profession: a fair income, access to land, access to finance and more,” von der Leyen commented on announcing the EIB loans.
She said the €3bn finance package is a “message to young people who want to take over the family farm or start a new organic business - Europe is at your side”.
Read more
More cuts to scheme red tape planned
Level playing field needed for farmers, says Hansen
Providing €3bn in European Investment Bank (EIB) loans for the EU's farmers and the bioeconomy has been pitched by the European Commission as one of the measures that has been taken to improve the competitiveness of EU agriculture.
The first loans will be on offer in 2025 and they will be targeted towards young farmers, women farmers and green on-farm investments.
The EIB steps in to provide loans when it is deemed that the private banking sector is not doing so sufficiently, such as when lenders were anxious to extend credit to businesses during Brexit, COVID and Ukraine-related market volatility.
In Ireland, previous EIB packages have been administered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI).
New package
The new €3bn package announced for agriculture is the largest ever allocated to the sector and will allow for “favourable loan terms” for farmers and agribusinesses.
This will allow the package to be bolstered by “interest rate subsidies or capital grants under the EU and national budgets”.
Both the lender and European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen have said that the EU’s farms are not getting the investment they need to ensure generational renewal, gender equality in farming and a quick enough climate transition.
“We have an enormous investment gap and this investment gap is hampering the innovation that is so much needed to be competitive, but also to achieve our climate and environmental goals,” Commissioner Hansen commented last week.
“We will closely work with the EIB to make sure that this financing opportunity is taken up on the ground and delivers results. Together, we're securing a sustainable future for the sector.”
Returning as Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen has said that rectifying the lagging competitiveness of the EU relative to global players, particularly China and the US, will be a key focus of the new Commission.
“Young people need the right incentives to enter this noble profession: a fair income, access to land, access to finance and more,” von der Leyen commented on announcing the EIB loans.
She said the €3bn finance package is a “message to young people who want to take over the family farm or start a new organic business - Europe is at your side”.
Read more
More cuts to scheme red tape planned
Level playing field needed for farmers, says Hansen
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