The execution of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan includes a new form of public-private collaboration: the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE). Within this framework, driving projects will be included, which have a structural transformative impact on the value chain of strategic sectors or involve phases of research and innovation.
The Agri-food PERTE, whose regulatory bases have recently been published, has the main objective of promoting innovation, digitalization, and sustainability throughout the sector, through support programs and transformative instruments that foster a sustainable, competitive, and resilient agri-food production and industry. The first aid package of the Agri-food PERTE will be endowed with 510 Million € and will be managed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism:
- Beneficiaries: each project will be requested by groups (minimum of four distinct legal entities, with a maximum of sixty participants).
- The presentation of the Tractor Project will be made by the company that will serve as the interlocutor for the group.
- The payment of the aid will be made directly to each company, with a single payment after the concession resolution.
- The member entities of the group will have the status of beneficiaries of the aid and will be jointly responsible in proportion to their respective participations.
- Total budget: 510 M€ (310 M€ in subsidies + 200 M€ in loans).
- Minimum budget per project:
- Tractor Project: 10 M€.
- Primary project: 100,000€ (except for certain actions related to competitiveness, sustainability, traceability, and food safety for which there is no minimum budget).
- 75% of the Tractor project’s budget must be allocated to activities related to the processing, handling, or transformation of one or more agri-food products.
- Maximum aid intensity: 80% of the project’s execution budget which differs in:
- Loan: at a fixed 0% to be repaid in 3 years of grace + 7 of amortization depending on the minimum. Varies depending on the type of project and size of the entity.
- Subsidy: the intensity can be increased by up to 15% if the project involves effective collaboration or if the results have a high degree of dissemination. In efficiency and sustainability actions, the intensity can increase if the actions are carried out in assisted areas.
- Guarantees: requirement for presentation after the disbursement of the loan and the completion of the project respectively:
- Depending on the financial rating of the beneficiary entity (20% satisfactory, 15% good, 10% excellent).
- Depending on the percentage of aid (100% if the percentage >20%, 60% if it is 10-20%; 40% if it is <10%; 100% for newly established companies).
- Execution period: from the date of application until, at most, June 30, 2025.
- Submission period: from January 23 to February 28, 2023.
Given the importance of these aids, BIOVEGEN has prepared a summary report of their regulatory bases.
- Version: December 2022