The National Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR) has announced the receipt of applications for more than 525 million euro in funding for the establishment and modernization of processing units.
The session for the submission of funding applications has closed for the component dedicated to the modernization of processing units through intervention DR-23 „Investments for the processing and marketing of agricultural products into food products and processed products, other than those referred to in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”. The closure was carried out according to the session timetable, the deadline for submission of applications for funding through intervention DR-23 being February 16, 2026, 16:00.
„In the first 5 days from the opening of the session we have exhausted the funds available for the component of setting up processing units through DR-23, well above the allocated ceiling - we had applications for over 400 million euro against an allocation of 82 million euro - and now we have closed the modernization component on time. With the funding applications submitted to AFIR, we have a clear and concrete signal from the economic environment and the agri-food sector showing that Romania not only needs, but also has the capacity to invest quickly and consistently in processing, in order to transform agricultural raw materials into finished products with added value. The DR-23 intervention demonstrates that the direction taken by the Strategic Plan is the right one: investments in processing are the key to increasing competitiveness, strengthening value chains and sustainable development of the rural environment. AFIR will continue to support this path with solid financial instruments and a pace of implementation adapted to the real needs of the economy”said Adrian Chesnoiu, Director General of the Rural Investment Financing Agency.
In total, for the two components of the DR-23 intervention, the Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR) received online 273 applications for funding amounting to 525.5 million euro (€ 525,507,980), which represents a percentage of consumption of the available allocation of 319%.
Of the total funds requested, for the start-up component, processors submitted 124 projects worth €400.8 million in the first 5 days of the session.
Also, between December 15, 2025 - February 16, 2026, for the modernization component of the DR-23 intervention, AFIR received online 149 applications for investment funding amounting to 124.7 million euro.
The total allocation for this session was 164.929.100 euro divided equally between the two components: 82.464.550 euro for the start-up component and another 82.464.550 euro for the modernization component.
Non-reimbursable support for each individual project can be up to €10 million for investments in the bakery sector and up to €3 million for other types of investments, with a maximum funding intensity of 65% of the total eligible project value.
The financing granted to processors through intervention DR-23 „Investments for processing and marketing of agricultural products with a view to obtaining food products and processed products, other than those referred to in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union” is provided by the European Commission funding through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and co-funding from the State Budget, through the Strategic Plan CAP 2023 - 2027 (SP 2027).
The funds are allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development through the Agency for Rural Investment Financing (AFIR), which ensures the receipt of applications for funding, project evaluation, contracting and payment requested by beneficiaries.