Access to finance for smaller farms in the EU – Highlights

The European Commission – Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), in partnership with the European Investment Bank, organised the conference ‘Access to finance for smaller farms in the EU’, on Tuesday, 17 May 2022 in Brussels and online.

The conference’s main aim was to shed light on currently implemented EAFRD financial instruments and national schemes supporting the financing of smaller farms in the EU. It comes at a moment when Member States are preparing their new CAP Strategic Plans, which need to address the needs of smaller farms. The examples displayed at the conference showed the importance of micro-finance, small loans and guarantees, and are an excellent basis for further work on this subject. Support given in Croatia, Romania, Hungary and Italy was in the centre of the discussions.