These include: 121 Modernisation of Agricultural Holdings; 122 Improving the Economic Value of Forests; 123 Adding Value to Agricultural and Forest Products; 223 Initial Afforestation of Non-agricultural Lands; 226 Recovering the Forest Potential and Implementation of Preventive Actions; 311 Diversification to Non-Agricultural Activities; 312 Support for the Creation and Development of Micro Enterprises; and 322 Reviving and Development of Settlements.
The scheme is implemented in cooperation with 21 commercial banks with which State Fund Agriculture has signed contracts. Thus beneficiaries can obtain softer lending terms including a 7% fixed annual interest rate and a repayment term of up to 60 months.
2012 saw a more robust interest in the scheme, with 248 projects backed under four measures including 121, 123, 311, and 312. The lion’s share in terms of number of projects and loan value was scooped up for modernizing agricultural holdings, where over BGN 23.3 million was divvied up between 131 projects. A further BGN 15.5 million was extended to set up and develop micro enterprises.
Funding provided in 2012 by measures
| Measure under Rural Development Programme | Number of Loans | Share (%) | Extended loan (BGN) | Share (%) |
| 121 Modernisation of Agricultural Holdings | 131 | 52.82% | 23 395 805 | 42.79% |
| 123 Adding Value to Agricultural and Forest Products | 25 | 10.08% | 6 502 123 | 11.89% |
| 311 Diversification to Non-Agricultural Activities” | 34 | 13.71% | 9 208 777 | 16.84% |
| 312 Support for the Creation and Development of Micro Enterprises | 58 | 23.39% | 15 574 462 | 28.48% |
| Total: | 248 | 100% | 54 681 167 | 100% |
The commercial banks refinancing scheme kicked off at the end of 2011. Up till now, 296 loans have been requested to the amount of BGN 69 million. The investment value of these projects surpasses BGN 122 million. Thanks to the favourable and affordable lending conditions the bulk of the projects are already up and running and the European subsidies have been absorbed. The remaining investment projects are yet to be implemented, with the subsidies prepared to be extended in 2013.
In response to beneficiaries’ keen interest, State Fund Agriculture has secured sufficient financial resources to implement the scheme into 2013. Application details and a complete list of partner banks are available at www.prsr.bg.