Funding Guideline Agriculture, Investment, Business Start-up – FRL LIE/2023 – Business Start-ups and Farm Succession

This program of the Free State of Saxony is aimed at young farmers who wish to establish an agricultural enterprise or take over an existing farm as part of farm succession. The funding is designed for businesses in Saxony that implement a multi-year business plan. Additionally, investments in existing agricultural businesses are supported to improve animal welfare, climate and environmental protection, and competitiveness.

The program supports diverse investments and start-up activities in agriculture. This includes measures for modernizing farms, improving animal welfare and environmental protection, digitizing agricultural processes, and establishing agroforestry systems.

Financial support is provided as a grant, for both business start-ups and investments. The amount of funding varies depending on the project and can be increased by certain criteria such as location or organic farming methods. There is an upper limit for the eligible investment volume over the funding period.

For successful utilization of the funding, various criteria and obligations must be met. These concern the reliability of applicants, securing overall financing, compliance with EU requirements, and specific conditions regarding livestock, accounting, and environmental standards.

The application for funding must be submitted to the Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) before the start of the project. Project selection is carried out through a transparent, competitive process based on defined selection criteria and a point system.

The funding program is based on a specific guideline of the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture. It is also subject to a series of overarching European and national laws and regulations that form the framework for agricultural funding.