Beneficiares

Young farmers between the ages of 18 and 40 are eligible for financing: 

• beneficiaries under submeasure 6.1; 
• in possession of the requirements of Submeasure 6. 1, established in the 5 years preceding the Application for Support (Dds).

The young farmer applying for funding must: 

• have a standard Production before investment of between 15,000 and 200,000 euros; 
• present a business plan; 
• be an active farmer; 
• be in compliance with social security, welfare and insurance payments and obligations (within 18 months of setting up for beneficiaries of submeasure 6.1); 
• demonstrate the financial sustainability of the investments; 
• not be a firm in difficulty; 
• not having committed serious crimes against the State or the European Community; 
• be in compliance with the anti-mafia certification.

Objectives

Supporting the establishment and start-up of young agricultural enterprises with investment in technological innovation for: 

• improving product quality; 
• reducing production costs; 
• improving the environmental sustainability of the company's production activities. 

The investments must: 

• encourage the varietal conversion and crop diversification of regional agricultural products; 
• expand the supply and increas the added value of agricultural enterprises through the horizontal integration of activities and production; 
• encourage the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass, without however resorting to dedicated crops; 
• optimise the water consumption of the company's water networks; 
• improve the energy efficiency of the company. 

Selection principles

The evaluation of Submeasure 4.1.B provides for a subdivision into macro-criteria, a minimum score for access to financing that for young people at the first settlement is equal to 25 points for young people settled in the previous 5 years is equal to 30 points. In the event of a tie between several beneficiaries, priority will be given to those with the lowest age. In the event of an equal number of points, priority will be given to Applications for Support which require a lower total investment cost. The maximum score that can be achieved is 100 points, defined as follows:

• Territorial scopes, with the location of interventions in rural areas according to the production sector concerned, according to the priorities specified in the paragraph of the call "Description of the focus of support" (maximum 10 points).
   
• Type of operations activated, with a maximum score of 45 points, divided in turn into: 
  • increase, compared to the situation prior to the investment, in the economic performance of the company, determined by the investment made (max 25 points);
  • investments relating to irrigation with water savings above the minimum threshold established (max 12 points);
  • type of aid requested (max 8 points).
     
• Beneficiaries (with a maximum attributable score of 45) with a sub attribution specified as follows:
  • production sector concerned by the interventions, according to the priorities specified in the call for proposals, section "Description of the focus of support" (max. points 10);
  • economic size of the company, measured in terms of Standard Production, with a selective bonus for the companies most likely to increase competitiveness. This bonus will be applied by a PS before intervention of 25,000 euros and in a decreasing manner up to a PS of 150,000 euros (max 15 points);
  • membership of the quality schemes referred to in Measure 3 (max 10 points);
  • type of applicant, with a bonus to the IAPs (for the assignment of these points to a farmers' association, the requirement must be possessed by all the companies participating in the collective project) (max 10 points).

Eligible expenditure

The financing covers the costs incurred for: 

• construction and modernisation of rural buildings for agricultural and livestock production purposes; 
• purchasing or leasing-purchasing of new machinery, equipment and computer applications; 
• company biomass storage facilities; 
• investments to improve the energy efficiency of rural productive agricultural buildings; 
• planting of tree crops; 
• innovative systems, machines and equipment for irrigation efficiency; 
• creation of distribution networks and collection reservoirs; 
• rainwater collection reservoirs with a volume of less than 250,000 cubic meters; 
• purchasing of agricultural land; 
• storage facilities for agricultural products; 
• innovative plant, machinery and equipment for investments in short supply chains; 
• overheads.

Scope of support

The share of the total investment covered by the financing varies depending on the Area in which the activity of the Young Farmer applicant is located: 

• 70% if located in areas with natural or other specific constraints; 
• 60% if located in other areas.

The total amount of the investment must be between 30,000 and 1,000,000 euros.