The European commission has agreed to commit €27 billion to 24 separate Rural Development Programs (RDPs) designed to improve the competitiveness of the EU farming sector and to support rural economies.
The funding will be allocated across ten countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, and will fund the creation of 40,000 jobs. This announcement brings the total allocation to RDPs to €62 billion through 51 programs under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
Between 2014 and 2020, the EU has budgeted €99.6 billion on 118 programs across all 28 EU member countries through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
The programs will offer funding for a broad span of projects including support for organic farming in Sweden, agriculture modernization projects, improving environmental practices on over 1 million hectares of Irish farmland, and the promotion of generational renewal in Croatia and Romania.
Romania will receive the largest amount from this latest round of funding at €8.1 billion, Bulgaria will receive €2.4 billion, Czech Republic will receive €2.3 billion, and Ireland will receive €2.2 billion.
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