Since last autumn, nearly 1,300 operations on this line have been formalised, amounting to 77.5 million euros. The ICF Agroliquididad line is aimed at self-employed people and agricultural and agri-food companies to mitigate the effects of the increase in the price of raw materials and fuels, and the consequences of climate change. The line has interest subsidized by the Department for Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda. The vegueries of Lleida with 56% and, by far, that of Terres de l'Ebre with 12%, are the territories that concentrate more operations. By type of activity, stone fruit and cereal crops have received the most loans.
The ICF Agroliquidity financing line, promoted by the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF) and the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, will be expanded by 20M euros.
The news was announced today at a meeting at the Territorial Services of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda in Lleida where Carmel Mòdòl, Secretary of Food of the Department, Vanessa Servera i Planas, CEO of the ICF and representatives of Unió de Pagesos, JARC, the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and ASAJA participated.
This line of loans was designed last autumn to support the agricultural sector of Catalonia and makes available to self-employed people and agricultural and agri-food companies, forestry, and the fishing sector loans to face the increase in the price of raw materials and fuels, as well as the consequences of climate change such as frost or hail. among other affectations. Also for those who want to make a small investment.
In relation to this ICF Agroliquididad line of financing, it should be noted that so far about 1,300 loans have been granted for an amount of 77.5 million euros.
Vanessa Servera, CEO of the ICF, states that "having carried out 1,300 operations of the Agroliquidity line in 10 months is a historic milestone for us. The sector needed this support and the Department for Climate Action made a major effort to define the details of the line and provide the initial funding. And now we have decided to equip it again because it is what the sector needs."
This line aimed at the agricultural sector is an example of the role of the ICF as a public promotional bank, a complementary actor to the private financial sector that can help agricultural entrepreneurs in an agile way.
In the same way, Servera stressed that "the ICF has put all the human resources to get the aid to the farmers, ranchers and fishermen who have requested it. It has been a learning experience for us as an organization and now we are much more capable of responding with great agility."
For his part, the Secretary of Food of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, Carmel Mòdol, has pointed out the importance of this line of loans given that "the agri-food sector requires high proportions of credit/working capital, more in the case of people and companies that do not charge every month for their work, but usually at the end of the campaign, when they've been making the investment for a long time."
Along these lines, Carmel Mòdol added that "the accumulated adverse weather situations have caused this situation to be especially tough for the sector. Hence the responsibility that ICF, enabling quick loans, and the Department, always on the side of the sector, and in this case approving these credit lines (among other measures), have worked to bring to the sector a very useful and well-defined action. The high materialization of operations clearly indicates that people needed it but also indicates that people are not giving up and continue to work. And needless to say, the fact that Lleida has been the area with the most operations speaks of its agri-food vocation".
In relation to the 1,269 operations signed in the last year, the territorial distribution by vegueries is as follows:
Lleida
56%
Terres de l’Ebre
12%
Camp de Tarragona
10%
Penedès
7%
Girona
5%
Catalunya central
4%
Alt Pirineu i Aran
3%
Barcelona
3%
Regarding the type of activity, and highlighting the most relevant %, 14% of loans are for stone fruit producers, another 14% for cereal cultivation, 13% for agricultural and livestock production, 10% for vine cultivation, 8% for fruit tree cultivation, 6% for pigs, 5% for oilseed crops and the remaining 30% for other activities.
The amount of the loans ranges from €10,000 to €100,000 per transaction and the term is up to 6 years, including a grace period of up to 2 years. These types of loans are part of the loan lines subject to subsidization by the departments of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in this case by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, which discounts 50% of the interest.
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