Romania scraps Resilience Facility-funded non-agri grant scheme for rural areas

Rural entrepreneurs lost the long-awaited financing line DR-29, with a budget of EUR 150mn for non-agricultural businesses in the countryside after it was scrapped by the authorities. The money was moved to the agricultural projects, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an official response to StartupCafe's inquiry on October 14.

Traditionally, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) also offered, in the past, financing lines from European funds intended for non-agricultural businesses in the countryside. Probably the most expected financings were sub-measures AFIR 6.2 and 6.4 from the old National Rural Development Program (PNDR), through which entrepreneurs could access up to EUR 200,000 per project for small businesses in villages.

Many guesthouses were built with European money for non-agricultural businesses in the countryside. In 2021, however, the Ministry of Agriculture removed boarding houses from funding on the grounds that people were taking European funds, building boarding houses, and then removing them from the tourist circuit, using them as their own homes for themselves and their families.

(Photo: Romolo Tavani/ Dreamstime)