The "Rabla for tractors" program could be launched by the end of September

The application for the "Rabla for tractors" program should be operational during September, after the guide currently under public debate will be approved, said on Friday, in a press conference, Laurentiu Neculaescu, the president of the Administration of the Fund for Medium (AFM).

Laurenţiu Neculaescu said: "If everything goes normally after the consultations, I think that in a month we will open the IT application and people can register. I think the budget will run out in a few minutes because, from what I've talked to the associations in the field, the farmers are extremely interested and they really want a program like this. If it is a program that is successful, maybe in 2025 we will repeat it and have a new funding session. I would like everyone who is interested to make all the comments we need. Yesterday (ed. - Thursday, August 29), we put the guide on tractors up for public debate. It is the first time that the AFM has a program like this and we would like, as much as possible, to receive feedback during this two-week period while the guide is in public debate, to know whether we have thought through the mechanism and the way of program and if what we thought meets the needs of these farmers".

The President of the AFM specified that all files will be submitted in the computer application, and the applicants must have a producer certificate issued by the town hall in which they operate, as well as tax certificates showing that they have no debts to the state budget.

The AFM representative mentioned: "There are farmers who do not necessarily need tractors with large capacities, because they do not have large areas that they exploit. The farmer needs a smaller tractor, but he needs the aggregates behind the tractor, and then, up to the amount of 55,000 euros, such projects will also be eligible. It will be a program that will work and will follow the model of the famous Rabla program, in which the farmer - we are talking about natural persons who have certified the manufacturer - will scrap a used vehicle or an older tractor, will receive a voucher with which goes to the dealer and will purchase a tractor or machinery related to that tractor, up to a maximum value of 55,000 euros. The dealer will submit the statement to the AFM".

The budget allocated to the new program to renew the national tractor fleet is 500 million lei. According to the state aid scheme, the support intensity is between 65% and 80%. Young farmers - ie farmers aged up to 40 years - will benefit from a maximum settlement of 80% of the value of the tractor, while the rest of the farmers will get 65% financing.