The Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture has started the procedure of financing local action groups (LAGs) within the LEADER program since May 20.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry announced this, noting that 51 applications were submitted within the 2nd competition, held from January 15 to February 23, for the selection of local action groups and approval of local development strategies for funding from the National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development. The Selection and Approval Commission, established within the agricultural department, evaluated the submitted applications and reviewed the local development strategies in accordance with the established criteria. As a result, all submitted applications (51) were selected and approved. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, of the 51 approved LAGs, 31 will receive immediate funding totaling about 160 million lei for 2024-2025, respectively about 80 million lei for each calendar year. The remaining 20 LAGs will be financed as additional resources are identified and the budget of the National Fund for Agricultural and Rural Development is replenished. After receiving the Ministry's decisions, the LAGs will launch local competitions to apply for funding for investment projects in the rural areas they cover. According to the current legislation, a local action group is a non-profit, non-political association with the status of a legal entity, which is created for the purpose of developing and implementing local development strategies within the LEADER program, based on a territorial partnership established at the local level between the public, business and civil sectors, in which none of these sectors can hold more than 49% of the voting rights at the decision-making level. // 21.05.2024 - InfoMarket
