Grant Funds for More Competitive Agriculture in Serbia, 2023

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management – Directorate for Agrarian Payments – has announced the Third Public Call for the submittal of applications to determine who is eligible for the grant available through the More Competitive Agriculture in Serbia, 2023 Project in which ProCredit Bank participated.

The subject of the Third Public Call is investments in improving competitiveness and connections within the market chain in the areas of purchase, processing, placement of agricultural products, as well as improving the placement of products produced through traditional and artistic handiwork and domestic craftsmanship.
 

Who is eligible to apply?

The following groups are eligible to apply for the grant:

• Aggregator: an entrepreneur, company, or agricultural cooperative that has an active agricultural holding
• In this context, an ‘aggregator’ purchases agricultural products from primary agricultural producers for the purpose of processing, storage, preparation, and further distribution in the market. Alternatively, an aggregator may produce primary agricultural products and engage in processing these products for subsequent placement in the market.
• The entity or ‘aggregator’ must be classified as a micro or small enterprise with up to 50 employees and a total annual turnover of up to EUR 5 million. This information must be authenticated in official financial documentation for the previous year submitted to the Serbian Business Registers Agency. 
• A company may be eligible for the grant if its ownership structure includes less than 25% public capital and it may not be part of a group of related parties that has members which are medium-sized or corporate legal entities. 
   

How much is approved through the grant?

RSD 750,000,000.00 have been allocated for the Third Public Call in 2023. The amount of the approved grant must be at least EUR 12,500 and cannot exceed EUR 200,000.
The grant is determined in a percentile amount of 50% of the total value of the sub-project, including applicable taxes and contributions of the respective investment.     
The remaining amount is secured by the client - 10% and a loan granted by ProCredit Bank - 40%.
 
The deadline for submitting an application is 4 December 2023 to 2 February 2024, online, via the website: Competitive Agriculture in Serbia Project: https://scap.rs/ or via the Directorate for Agrarian Payments: http://www.uap.gov.rs.