AFIR extends the project submission session for the establishment of irrigation systems

A financing scheme with a generous budget of €102,421,176 seems to have gotten off to a rocky start, despite many farmers being in great need of support.

We’re referring to the DR-26 intervention – “Establishment of irrigation systems,” part of the Strategic Plan for CAP 2023-2027, through which farmers can obtain funding of up to €500,000 per farm for the establishment of local irrigation systems, with non-refundable public support covering 65% of eligible expenses.

The measure was launched by the Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR) on January 15, 2024, at 09:00, with the initial deadline set for May 14, 2024, at 16:00. However, an informational material published in December on the institution’s website has somewhat confused farmers regarding the timing for submitting the water management approval, mentioned as a mandatory document in the Applicant Guide. This situation prompted AFIR representatives to provide certain clarifications on this aspect on February 14, 2024 (see here).

Ultimately, to encourage farmers to access the funding program for local farm-level irrigation systems, it was decided to extend the project submission session.

“To assist applicants in obtaining the Water Management Approval in a timely manner, necessary for the Feasibility Study stage of project submission, we hereby announce that the project submission session for the DR 26 intervention – ‘Establishment of irrigation systems’ will be extended by a period of two months, beyond the date of May 14, 2024. The project selection threshold during the mentioned extension period will be set at 30 points,” as stated in an informational note published on the AFIR website.