The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, are expanding the ICF Agroliquiditat loan line by €40 million to continue meeting the financing needs of the primary sector. The measure reaffirms the commitment of the Catalan Government and the public promotional bank to strengthening the economic viability of farming, fishing and forestry operations, improving their competitiveness and making it easier for young people to enter the sector.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food is launching new grant lines to support agri-food companies affected by persistent drought, the impact of high temperatures on pear crops and the DANA storm. It is also opening a call for grants for irrigation communities affected by adverse weather events.

The Minister for Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero, highlighted the twofold aim of the ICF Agroliquiditat line, which should serve to “help businesses in the sector make investments in the future that allow them to take a medium and long-term view”, but also to drive “generational renewal”. She encouraged young people to join the sector and to use this economic injection to “become more competitive in an increasingly globalised environment”.

The Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, Òscar Ordeig, said that “the primary sector needs useful tools to keep producing, investing and generating opportunities across the territory. With this expansion, we are making it easier to access financing on favourable terms so that self-employed workers, business owners and young people can take on new projects with greater guarantees and continue strengthening a strategic sector for Catalonia”.

He also stated that “we want anyone who decides to start up or continue an activity in the primary sector to find support from the Administration. Making credit more accessible is a concrete way of helping farms become stronger and of creating opportunities for young people who are committed to rural life”.

€40M more for ICF Agroliquiditat

Of the additional €40 million, €13.3 million will be set aside for self-employed workers and young business owners up to the age of 40, with the aim of improving their access to financing and encouraging generational renewal, one of the sector's main challenges.

Since the line opened, ICF has financed 2,561 self-employed workers and business owners in the primary sector with a total of €210 million, an amount which, together with the expansion announced, brings the total allocation of ICF Agroliquiditat loans to €250 million.

ICF Agroliquiditat loans, aimed at self-employed workers and business owners in the agricultural, agri-food, forestry and fishing sectors to cover small investments or liquidity needs, can be applied for from Monday 21 September through the ICF website.

Up to €100,000 at a subsidised interest rate

The loans will carry a fixed interest rate of 1.90%, falling to 0.95% for applicants up to the age of 40. The reference interest rate for ICF Agroliquiditat loans is 3.80%, but thanks to the subsidy from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, with a contribution of €11.63 million, it is reduced by 50% in the general tranche and by 75% in the tranche for young people.

The repayment period will be up to six years, including a maximum two-year grace period, and each applicant may request an amount of between €10,000 and €100,000.

As in previous expansions, those who have already taken out an ICF Agroliquiditat loan may only apply for further financing up to a total maximum of €150,000. In other words, if they already had a loan of €100,000, they may apply for a maximum of €50,000 more.

Grants to address the effects of drought, extreme heat and the DANA storm

The Ministry of Agriculture has also approved a new grant line for cooperatives, agricultural processing companies (SAT) and agri-food businesses affected by persistent drought, the high temperatures that particularly hit the pear sector and the effects of the DANA storm in the counties of Baix Ebre and Montsià during the 2024-2025 season.

The line will mobilise close to €4 million with the aim of helping the agri-food companies worst affected by these extraordinary events and contributing to maintaining their activity, productive capacity and competitiveness.

The Catalan Government steps up support for irrigation communities affected by adverse weather events

The Ministry of Agriculture is also launching a new grant line for irrigation communities affected by adverse weather events, with the aim of supporting the work and investment needed to restore and guarantee the proper functioning of irrigation infrastructure.

This line responds to the need to strengthen the resilience of agricultural infrastructure in the face of increasingly extreme weather events and to help guarantee water availability for productive activity. The grants will support irrigation communities that have suffered damage as a result of these events and will facilitate the work needed to restore service and improve their capacity to respond to future incidents.

The call will have an allocation of €360,000 and forms part of the Ministry's strategy to strengthen the agricultural sector's adaptation to the effects of climate change.

€5 million to modernise farms in the nuclear zones

As part of the Government's commitment to strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the primary sector, the Ministry of Agriculture has published a new call for €5 million from the Nuclear Transition Fund (FTN) to drive modernisation investments in farms in the municipalities included in the PENTA I and PENTA II nuclear emergency planning zones of Ascó and Vandellòs.

The grants will finance up to 65% of the investment, with an increase of 10 percentage points, up to 75%, for young farmers who have set up in the last five years. Eligible actions include the purchase of new machinery and equipment, precision agriculture technology, the construction or improvement of warehouses, sheds and livestock buildings, and certain investments to expand or create new livestock brands.

The call aims to support the transformation and strengthening of the agricultural sector in the areas affected by the energy transition, facilitate the uptake of technology and innovation, improve the efficiency and sustainability of farms and help generate new economic opportunities and retain population in rural areas.

Applications may be submitted for one month from the day after the call is published in the DOGC, exclusively online.