ADVISORY SERVICE IN RURAL ECONOMY

Both natural and legal persons can receive a subsidized advisory service worth 3,000 euros per year. The subsidy rate is 90% or 2699.82 euros and the co-payment rate is 10% or 299.98 euros + vat.

Rural economy advisory service grant for the period 2023-2027 includes following according to the professional certificate of a rural economy consultant:

• Preparation of a business plan;

• Requirements set out in legislation regulating the economy;

• Primary production and processing;

• Business environment and factors affecting it, economic environment of different areas of activity, average indicators of the economic sector, regulations and activity permits, including compliance requirements in agricultural production (mandatory management requirements and requirements for good agricultural and environmental condition);

• General development trends and opportunities in rural economy (including agriculture), opportunities for diversification of rural economy;

• Forms of entrepreneurship and organization of economic activities, starting a business;

• Principles of financial analysis, balance sheet and income statement, basic ratios, financial statements, annual report; accounting of income and expenses, profit margin, principles of financial management, including budgeting;

• Analysis and preparation of strategy, preparation of a company development plan

• Fundamentals of strategic management: short-term and long-term planning;

• Calculation of resource needs, planning and resource analysis;

• Investment profitability and planning;

• Risk analysis and risk mitigation planning;

• Financing options;

• Types of company assets, including accounting principles for biological assets;

• Company diversification options, general development trends in rural economy;

• Marketing principles: product, price, market and advertising;

• Calculation, analysis, planning of production volumes;

• Analysis and planning of production trends;

• Analysis of the feasibility of plans;

• etc.

According to the regulation: "Support shall be provided to the service provider recommended in paragraph 1, which is aimed at: 

1.the production of agricultural products, 
2. the processing of agricultural products,
3. the maintenance of agricultural and forest land, including the maintenance of the agricultural and forestry system,
4. the processing of non-agricultural products from agricultural products."

Advisory services provided in the field of forestry constitute state aid pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472 and the final beneficiary must submit an aid application referred to in Article 6(2) to the advisory service provider before receiving the service. 

Advisory services provided in the field of processing of agricultural products for a product that is not an agricultural product covered by Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union constitute de minimis aid. The de minimis aid (hereinafter referred to as DEI) rate for the period 2023-2027 is EUR 300,000 over three years (1,095 days). If the final beneficiary has reached the maximum amount of the VTA rate, it is possible to continue to receive the advisory service provided that the enterprise is a small or medium-sized enterprise and an application for assistance pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 has been submitted to the advisory service provider before receiving the service. If the support is granted as state aid due to exceeding the VTA rate, the support rate is reduced from 90% to 50%.

More information on state aid and de minimis aid (including the free balance check) is available on the website of the Ministry of Finance.