The Rural Investment Financing Agency (AFIR) has published the official version of the applicant's guide for intervention DR-14, dedicated to small farms. The budget is 108 million euros, and the submission period begins on September 1, 2026.
The official guide, including all annexes, was published on August 7, 2026, after the draft version had been released for consultation on April 24. The session budget is 108 million euros, and the maximum grant is 50,000 euros per project.
The support intensity is a maximum of 85% of eligible costs, which means a co-financing of 15% from the beneficiary. For a 50,000 euro project, the own contribution is 7,500 euros, an accessible level for most small farms.
Eligible entities include Persoană Fizică Autorizată (Authorized Physical Person - PFA), Societate cu Răspundere Limitată (Limited Liability Company - SRL), and other forms of organization operating small farms. The funding covers machinery, equipment, and modernization works.
The most important procedural detail is the quality threshold. The session runs between September 1, 2026, at 09:00, and October 31, 2026, at 16:00, but during the first month, namely between September 1 and 30, a minimum quality threshold of 80 points applies. Projects submitted during this period must reach this score to be selected.
The practical consequence is that a project with an average score has better chances if submitted in October, when the threshold drops. Conversely, a solid project submitted in September benefits from more restricted competition. Choosing the submission timing thus becomes a strategic decision, not an administrative one.
The scoring grid published with the official guide is the document that deserves to be studied first, before any other preparation. At AFIR, the selection criteria are transparent and quantifiable: points are awarded for the activity sector, geographical area, young farmer status, membership in cooperative forms, and the environmental component of the investment.
A farmer can calculate their score with precision before investing in documentation, and if the result is below the 80-point threshold, the rational decision is to postpone submission until October or adjust the project to accumulate the missing points. This check takes a few hours and can save months of work.
What you need to know
- Budget: 108 million EUR
- Grant: up to 50,000 EUR per project, maximum intensity 85%
- Eligible: PFA, SRL, and other forms of organization operating small farms
- Session: September 1 - October 31, 2026. Quality threshold of 80 points in the first month
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