Green Agritourism

The programme

Aid scheme for tourism activities. Concerns investment projects in the in the tourism sector , which link the primary and secondary sectors with the tertiary sector, creating a new tourism product (Article 2(15) of the GAC).
The aim of the Subproject is to:
α) Improving the position of farmers in the value chain.
b) The enhancement of the competitiveness and recognition of products in the markets through their placement in points of attraction for visitors – tourists and the development of experiential agrotourism actions.
c) The integration of innovation processes innovation and processes environmentally friendly processes, which reduce climate change.
(d) Sustainable local development and more efficient management of natural resources.

Who it concerns

1. Under the Green Rural Tourism sub-project, all legal entities belonging to either SMEs or large enterprises , without prejudice to the specific provisions laid down in the specific article of the GAC applicable in each case.
2. Beneficiaries may also be legal persons in the process of being established, which complete the establishment procedures before the adoption of the individual aid approval decision referred to in paragraph 12.1.
3. Persons operating under the form of a company under civil law, with the exception of Social Cooperative Enterprises and consortia, may not be considered beneficiaries.

Eligibility criteria

1. CRITERION 1: Maturity of the Investment Plan
The maturity of the investment project concerns the coverage of private participation and is documented with the supporting documents of Annex I, para. 6, criterion 1).
2. CRITERION 2: Legal establishment of a beneficiary
The legal constitution of the beneficiary shall be substantiated by the supporting documents set out in Annex I.
3. CRITERION 3: Green transition
(a) At least one of the following actions shall be required:
(aa) Investments in building installations to achieve a higher energy efficiency factor.
(bb) Investments in mechanical equipment with reduced energy consumption.
(cc) Supply of vehicles of the higher, available pollutant emission measurement standard, as applicable to each vehicle category.
(dd) Investments in RES
(ee) Investments in infrastructure contributing to water saving.
(ff) Investments in mechanical equipment that contributes to water saving.
4. CRITERION 4: Implementation of an experiential agrotourism plan
Presentation of a sustainable experiential agrotourism plan in which the comparative advantages of the area of implementation of the business plan are taken into account. This includes, as a minimum, actions:
aa) Promotion of local gastronomy.
(bb) Promotion of the local cultural heritage through agricultural activities. cc) Interconnection with local businesses and institutions.
5. CRITERION 5: Viability of the investment
In order to determine the viability of the investment, the acceptable limits of the selected performance ratios in the submitted feasibility study are:
a) General liquidity of the Entity before the investment (Current Assets / Short-term liabilities) > 1. It concerns only existing businesses, which have closed at least one administrative year.
b) Net profit margin of the Entity after the investment (Net profit / total turnover) >1%
c) Internal rate of return (IRR) of the Entity after the investment for a period of 10 years > 10 d) Ability to repay the Agency's interest on amortization (IAT) after the investment < 2

Program budget

The Public Aid amounts to € 49,006,000.00, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Fund for the period 2022/25.

Amount of subsidy

Aid amounts and rates - Aid intensity

Requested budget
The limits of the requested budget of each application for funding are as follows:
Setting budget limits
Micro – Small – Medium: Minimum requested eligible budget EUR 500.000,00, Maximum requested eligible budget EUR 7.500.000,00
Large: Minimum requested eligible budget 500.000,00 Euro, Maximum requested eligible budget 12.500.000,00 Euro

Amplification intensity
Determination of the intensity of regional aid, by region
REGION, ENTERPRISE SIZE: LARGE MEDIUM SMALL
North Aegean                                                        30%         40%        50%
Crete                                                                     30%         40%        50%
Eastern Macedonia-Thrace                             30%         40%        50%
Central Macedonia                                            30%         40%        50%
Western Macedonia                                                40%         50%        50%
Epirus                                                                 30%          55%        50%
Thessaly                                                               30%         40%        50%
Ionian Islands                                                            30%         40%        50%
West Greece                                                      30%         40%        50%
Central Greece (except P.E.E. Evia)             35%         40%        50%
P.E. Evia                                                          40%         50%        50%
Peloponnese (except P.E.Arcadia)              35%         50%        50%
P.E. Arcadia                                                        40%         50%        50%
Southern Aegean Sea                                                           30%         40%        50%
Eastern Attica / West Attica / Piraeus and islands 25% 35% 45%
Western sector of Athens                                        30%         40%        50%
2. For the purpose of calculating the aid intensity and eligible costs, all figures used shall be calculated before deduction of taxes or other charges

Expenses subsidized

1. Investments in tangible and intangible assets are eligible for aid, subject in each case to the conditions laid down in the applicable article of the GAC. Investments have reasonable implementation costs and must be documented in writing in a clear, specific and up-to-date manner in the submitted feasibility study.
2. Investment aid is compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) of the Treaty and is exempt from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) of the Treaty, provided that the conditions laid down in Articles 14, 18, 19 and 41 of the GATS are fulfilled.
3. Regional aid expenditure (GAC Article 14 of Section 1) as applicable:
a) Construction or modernization of real estate.
b) Landscaping of the surrounding area in order to serve the needs of the unit.
c) Vehicles with which the company carries out transport of raw materials and products (finished and semi-finished), within the premises of the unit. Electric, zero-CO2 emission vehicles and vehicles emitting less than 50g/Km of CO2 are eligible.
(d) Purchase, transport and installation of equipment, including laboratory equipment, to the extent that it serves the operation of the plant.
(e) Costs of the company's computer equipment (such as the purchase of telephone installations, intercom networks, computers and peripheral machinery, photocopiers, plant security systems, fire protection systems). Computer equipment includes the costs of remote and intelligent management with the installation of remote control systems as well as any other investment that leads to a digital upgrade of businesses. Eligible is equipment that operates in an environmentally friendly manner and is accompanied by corresponding certifications if they exist on the market.
Costs to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities.
g) Intangible expenses such as software acquisition and acquisitions of patents, licenses of intellectual property rights, trademarks (including investments in digital upgrading of businesses) / Technical specifications and product design / Market research / Corporate identity & branding (logos, corporate presentations, etc.) / Design of promotions and material for companies and products. In addition, eligible is the acquisition of quality assurance certificates from competent organizations (such as ISO, HACCP, BRC GlobalStandards, IFS FoodStandard, GLOBALG.A.P., etc.) which ensure the quality and safety of the food he consumes.
(h) Intangible assets are eligible for the calculation of investment costs if they are used exclusively in the establishment receiving the aid; are amortisable, purchased on market terms from third parties unrelated to the purchaser and included in the assets of the undertaking receiving the aid and remain linked to the project for which the aid is granted for at least five years or three years in the case of SMEs.
4. Expenditure other than regional aid
(a) Aid for advisory services to SMEs (GAAR, Art. 18 of section 2)
(aa) The eligible costs shall be the cost of advisory services provided by external consultants.
(bb) Such services must not constitute a continuous or periodic activity nor be linked to the enterprise's usual operating expenditure, such as regular tax consultancy services or advertising services.
(b) Aid for participation of SMEs in fairs and exhibitions (GAAR, Art. 19 of section 2)
(aa) The eligible costs shall be the costs of participation in any trade fair (lease, installation and management of a stand).
(c) Investment aid for the promotion of renewable energy production (GER, Article 41 of Section 7)
(aa) Renewable energy equipment shall not be supported as an individual action, but as part of the total productive investment.
(bb) Investments in RES, including solar energy, will be based on a relevant energy requirements study and in which the percentage of coverage of the operating needs of the beneficiary's business is analyzed. Based on this study, an analysis is made of the way of energy substitution and the efficiency of the investment for the substitution of energy needs by RES (kWh of produced energy system RES / euro investment, with an accuracy of two decimal places) is assessed. The relevant study is submitted in the payment request that includes the cost of RES.
(cc) The aided investments shall be used to produce sustainable biofuels that are not food-based.
dd) Eligible expenditure on renewable energy sources shall be the additional investment expenditure necessary to promote the production of energy from renewable sources, calculated as follows:
i. Where the cost of investing in energy from renewable sources can be identified in the total investment cost as a separate investment, for example as an easily identifiable additional component in a pre-existing installation, these costs related to energy from renewable sources constitute the eligible costs
ii. Where the costs of investing in energy from renewable sources can be determined on the basis of a similar, less environmentally friendly investment, which would obviously have been carried out without the aid, this difference between the costs of the two investments identifies the costs associated with the production of energy from renewable sources and constitutes the eligible costs.
(ee) Aid shall only be granted to new renewable energy installations. No aid shall be granted or paid after the plant has become operational and the aid shall be independent of production.

Important dates

Timetable for the implementation of the Subproject
1. Submission of applications from 19 July 2022 to 30 September 2022.
2. The duration of the evaluation is estimated at 6 months from 31 May 2022 to 30 May 2022.
November 2022.
3. In the third quarter of 2022 (October 2022), the process of submission, evaluation and verification of payment claims is expected to start.
4. Investment projects will be completed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 12.8.

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