Agriculture Minister: Romania aims for EUR 2.9 bln in funds for agriculture attracted this year

Romania should be able to attract EUR 2.9 billion in EU funds for investments in agriculture, which would be EUR 200 million more than last year, said Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin at a conference by Ziarul Financiar. Farmers with small and medium size activities would be made available template projects this spring via the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture APIA, in a first pf a longer series of project submitting sessions. So far, with EUR 2.5 billion in EU funding absorbed in 2012, and EUR 2.7 billion in 2013 for agriculture, Romania is still not moving in the pace the minister would have wanted, “because there are problems on the co-financing side, lending and guarantees,” said Constatin. So far in Romania, just 1 percent of farmers own half of the farms, so they get half of the EU funds, the minister explained. editor@romania-insider.com