Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products
CALL CLOSED: Please note the first call for applications under the Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products is now closed.
Scheme Overview
On 28th December 2020, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar T.D. and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D. announced an economic stimulus package for primary food processing companies. This stimulus package is designed to strengthen and improve the resilience of such companies in order to mitigate the impact of market challenges.
The EUR 100 million Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products is a tripartite initiative between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Enterprise Ireland. The fund, which will be administered by Enterprise Ireland, will provide support for value-add projects with Annex I status as verified by DAFM. The aim of this fund is to advance product and/or market diversification among primary food processing companies and strengthen the resilience of companies vulnerable to the external trading environment.
Call Details
This is a competitive scheme. Applications for funding will be invited through public calls for submission of projects.
The first call for applications opens on 3rd February 2021 and closes at 12 midday on 15th April 2021.
A week of consultation and briefing will commence immediately following the call opening. Eligible companies are invited to submit applications from Wednesday 10th February until the closing date at midday on Thursday 15th April, 2021.
The fund size for this call will be EUR 70 million. Enterprise Ireland reserves the right to have more than one call. Subsequent call(s) will be notified within a reasonable timeframe. Due to the limited amount of funding available under this scheme it may not be possible to award aid to all eligible projects.
Scheme Structure
The maximum aid intensity that can be granted under the Scheme is 30% of the eligible investment costs. However, for large enterprises, the aid intensity for any individual project will be limited to the minimum support required to implement the project, compared to the counterfactual scenario in the absence of aid. The measurement that is recommended for use to quantify this comparison is Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Payback Period, Net Present Value and other relevant financial information may be provided.
Aid will not be provided under this Scheme for projects where the total eligible costs exceed €25 million or where the grant exceeds 30% of total project cost, or €5 million per project. A maximum grant of €10m per undertaking can be approved for funding under the first call and €12m over the lifetime of the Scheme.
Project Assessment and Evaluation
Project assessment will include commercial, financial and technical assessments prepared by the relevant personnel from Enterprise Ireland; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Bord Bia; its agencies and other experts where appropriate. The evaluation criteria are unique to this scheme and can be found in the reference document.
An Evaluation Group will be established comprising nominees from Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Bord Bia, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the private sector. A threshold score of at least 60 marks will be required for consideration by Enterprise Ireland’s approving committee.
Am I Eligible?
This fund is open to Enterprise Ireland clients deemed to be approved small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) or large enterprises which are engaged in the processing and marketing of certain agricultural products (beef, pig meat, sheep meat, poultry, dairy) as listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union*. The right to apply does not impose any obligation on the State to provide funding to an applicant.
*An Annex I product is one with a CN code listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. In any case of doubt, Annex I status can be checked with DAFM at annex1productqueries@agriculture.gov.ie
The following undertakings are deemed ineligible to apply:
- Undertakings which do not meet the criteria set out above;
- Undertakings which are subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market (Deggendorf ruling);
- Undertakings in difficulty;
- Undertakings having still at their disposal an earlier unlawful or incompatible aid.
Date of Eligibility of Cost
It is important to note that only expenditure incurred after the call close date may be deemed eligible for support. Expenditure incurred or investment work commenced/delivered prior to the call close date will render the entire project ineligible for support. This includes the payment of deposits or contracts entered into by the applicant company with the exception of costs incurred in association with planning permission.
Costs associated with planning permission including consultancy costs may be incurred prior to the call close date, without effecting the project start date. However, these costs will not be eligible for support as part of the application.
How do I apply?
CALL CLOSED: Please note the first call for applications under the Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products is now closed.
Applications must be submitted via email to GA-CIS@enterprise-ireland.com. Applications in any other format will not be accepted.
The following documents are required for a complete and valid application:
- Business Plan (.docx)
- Project Plan (.docx)
- Project Cost Sheet for SME (.xlsx) OR Project Cost Sheet for Large Companies (.xlsx) **
- Financial Data Sheet (.xlsx)
** Select the appropriate Project Cost Sheet based on the company size
The following information is required to be submitted alongside the company’s application form as part of the Enterprise Ireland evaluation process:
- Latest Management Accounts, no more than 3 months old
- Signed Audited Accounts (consolidated if part of a group) for the last 3 years
- Full Financial Projections for 5 years
- Actual Cashflows for previous 12 months
- Projected Cashflows for 2 years
- Internal Rate of Return (IRR), (or Payback Period and Net Present Value (NPV)) calculation ***
Relevant Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes for the products that will be the subject of the investment, and the CN codes after the processing has been undertaken ****
***Large companies only
****If not outlined in the Business Plan
Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by Enterprise Ireland within 3 working days.
Queries on the status of an application should be made to CIS@enterprise-ireland.com.
Incomplete applications will not be accepted for processing by Enterprise Ireland. Applications which are submitted after the deadline time and date will not be accepted for processing by Enterprise Ireland.
Further Information
Contact
For further information, please contact: CIS@enterprise-ireland.com
Or alternatively, contact your Enterprise Ireland Development Adviser.
