ICF and the Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca i Alimentació expand the credit line for the primary sector with an additional €37.5M, €12.5M of which will be allocated to young people up to 40 years old
The ICF Agroliquiditat loans, aimed at self-employed workers and business owners in the agricultural, agri-food, forestry and fisheries sectors to cover small investments or liquidity needs, can now be requested through the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) website.
The public promotional bank and the Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca i Alimentació have expanded the line aimed at the primary sector with an additional €37.5 million, of which €12.5 million will be reserved for young self-employed workers or business owners up to 40 years of age. “By strengthening the incentives for young people, we are directly helping to ensure generational renewal and keep our rural areas alive,” explained conseller Ordeig.
For her part, the CEO of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), Vanessa Servera, noted that until 2010, the agricultural sector had a highly relevant financier, the ICCA, which was integrated into the ICF. “We continue working to give the sector the place it deserves. In 2024, it already represented 11% of ICF financing. With the new tranche of the ICF Agroliquiditat line, we are making an additional €37.5 million available, with a focus on the younger segment,” she added.
Since the line was launched, the ICF has financed 2,193 self-employed workers and business owners in the primary sector with a total of €172.5 million, which, together with the newly announced extension, raises the total allocation of ICF Agroliquiditat loans to €210 million.
The loans will carry a fixed interest rate of 1.90%, which will be reduced to 0.95% for applicants up to 40 years old. The reference interest rate for ICF Agroliquiditat loans is 3.80%, but thanks to the subsidy from the Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca i Alimentació, it is reduced by 50% for the general tranche and 75% for the youth tranche.
The repayment term will be up to six years, including a maximum grace period of two years, and each applicant may request between €10,000 and €100,000.
As in previous extensions, individuals who have already formalized an ICF Agroliquiditat loan may only request additional financing up to a total maximum of €150,000. In other words, if they already had a €100,000 loan, they may request up to €50,000 more.
New Agroinversió loans with subsidised interest for irrigation systems and protective netting
In addition, conseller Ordeig announced that a new call for ICF Agroinversió loans will soon be available, aimed at subsidising investments in the modernisation of irrigation systems and hail protection netting.
“Reactivating and expanding this line means betting on the future of the primary sector. We will soon present a new loan line with subsidised interest for irrigation systems and protective netting, as we know this is an urgent and widely requested need for the sector,” concluded Ordeig.