Young farmer grant 2026: up to 100 000 euros to start an agricultural business

On 30 September 2026, a new application round for the PRIA young agricultural entrepreneur grant will open. Through the investment grant for promoting young entrepreneurs starting agricultural activities, applicants can apply for up to 100 000 euros. Applications will be accepted until 14 October 2026 and the total budget for the round is 7 million euros.

The grant is not intended solely for establishing an entirely new farm. The funds can be used to start or develop agricultural production and, where the requirements are met, also to take over an existing agricultural enterprise.

Official information and the conditions of the application round are published on the PRIA website.

Who can apply for young farmer support?

The grant is awarded to an entrepreneur who manages an agricultural holding and meets the conditions of the measure.

The applicant may be:

• FIE who is up to 40 years old at the time of submitting the application;
• a company, except for a commercial association, all of whose partners or shareholders and management board members are natural persons up to 40 years of age at the time the application is submitted.

An applicant aged 40 meets the age requirement because the regulation uses the wording “up to the age of 40”.

As a general rule, the applicant must have at least one year of work experience in agriculture and a compliant agricultural education or professional qualification.

If the required work experience, education or professional qualification has not yet been obtained at the time of application, the conditions allow it to be acquired in certain cases after the grant has been awarded. The requirement must be met no later than 30 June 2029.

Does the agricultural enterprise have to be completely new?

Not necessarily, but the measure is primarily intended for young entrepreneurs starting out in agriculture.

As a general rule, as of the application deadline, a young agricultural producer must not have engaged in agricultural economic activity as FIE or held a share in a company engaged in agricultural economic activity for more than 24 months.

However, the regulation provides for exceptions, for example, in cases of low previous agricultural sales revenue. Therefore, an applicant with previous agricultural activities must review their situation in accordance with § 5 of the applicable regulation.

A business information session may be mandatory

Applicants are also subject to a business training requirement.

As a general rule, FIE or, in the case of a company, at least one member of its management board must, before submitting the application, have participated in the same year in a business information session lasting at least six academic hours, which includes an introduction to preparing a business plan and complies with the conditions of the measure.

Participation in the information day is not required if an exception stipulated in the regulation applies, for example, if the applicant has completed suitable continuing education in entrepreneurship lasting at least eight academic hours or has a qualification or higher education that meets the requirements and whose curriculum included instruction on preparing a business plan.

What can the grant of up to 100 000 euros be used for?

The grant is awarded for implementing activities planned in a compliant business plan.

Supported activities may include, for example:

• commencing the production of agricultural products;
• developing existing agricultural production;
• the purchase of tangible fixed assets required for production, including biological assets;
• the erection, construction, installation, extension or reconstruction of a building or structure required for agricultural production;
• acquiring the entire holding in a company operating in the agricultural sector;
• FIE kogu põllumajandusettevõtte omandamist.

At least 50% of the cost of the eligible activities planned in the business plan must be allocated to investment in tangible fixed assets or construction, or to the acquisition of a compliant agricultural enterprise.

The grant may also be used to take over an operating agricultural enterprise

This is one of the grant's most notable opportunities: a young entrepreneur does not necessarily have to start an agricultural business from scratch.

An eligible activity may be the acquisition of the entire shareholding in a company operating in the agricultural sector or the entire agricultural enterprise of FIE.

However, the enterprise to be acquired must meet specific conditions.

Immediately before the acquisition, the entrepreneur must have been operating for at least one financial year lasting 12 month.

In the financial year immediately preceding the acquisition:

• revenue from the sale of self-produced agricultural products must account for more than 50% of total sales revenue;
• revenue from the sale of self-produced agricultural products must be more than 10 000 euros.

Therefore, merely purchasing a company name, individual pieces of equipment or a random collection of assets is not sufficient for the purposes of receiving support. It must be an agricultural economic unit that meets the conditions.

Important 24-month rule for an already acquired enterprise

If the applicant wishes to start agricultural economic activity through an already acquired company or agricultural enterprise and the option provided for in subsection 8 of § 5 of the regulation applies to their situation, the entire shareholding or agricultural enterprise must have been acquired within 24 months before the application deadline.

This condition should not be confused with the general option of planning the acquisition of an agricultural enterprise as a supported activity in the business plan. For a specific transaction, it must always be checked under which provision of the regulation the applicant qualifies for support.

It is also possible to purchase used machinery

Under certain conditions, the support may also be used to purchase used machinery or equipment.

In this case, at the time of submitting the application, the machinery or equipment must have been manufactured less than five years ago. No support from the state budget, the European Union or any other non-repayable public funding may have previously been used to purchase it.

Furthermore, the price of used equipment must not exceed its market value and must be lower than the price of an equivalent new machine or piece of equipment.

What changed in September 2026?

The conditions of the measure were amended immediately before the autumn application round. The new version of the regulation entered into force on 6 September 2026.

One of the changes concerned the acquisition of an agricultural enterprise. The conditions were clarified to make it unambiguous which requirements the company or FIE agricultural enterprise being acquired must meet.

The administrative burden on applicants was also reduced. For example, the previous requirement to submit a standard output forecast for certain production sectors was abolished.

Was the six-month requirement abolished?

An important distinction must be made here.

The September amendment repealed the previous requirement in the regulation that implementation of the supported activity had to begin within six months of the decision to approve the application.

According to the explanatory memorandum to the amendment, the commencement of activities is no longer checked separately under this previous requirement.

At the same time, PRIA states in the guidelines applicable to the 2026 application round that the beneficiary must have undertaken binding commitments related to the supported activity within six months of the decision to approve the application — for example, ordered equipment, concluded contracts or made payments.

In practical terms, this means that the project should not be put on hold for months after the grant is awarded.

In addition, at least 75% of the eligible activities planned in the business plan, including the required investment, must be completed within one year of the decision to approve the application.

Explanations of the changes made in September can be found in the explanatory memorandum on the amendment to the regulation.

How is the grant paid?

The support is paid out in two instalments.

If the maximum amount of the grant awarded is 100 000 euros, this means a first instalment of up to 75 000 euros and a second instalment of up to 25 000 euros.

How quickly must the project be completed?

As a general rule, the activities planned in the business plan must be carried out within two years after PRIA's decision to approve the application, but no later than 30 June 2029.

At least 75% of the planned activities, including the required investment, must be completed within one year.

Assets acquired or constructed with the grant must be used for their intended purpose for at least three years after the final grant instalment is paid.

The business plan is one of the most important parts of the application

For a grant of 100 000 euros, simply having an idea or a shopping list is not enough.

PRIA requires a substantive business plan that must describe, among other things:

• the planned investment and its cost;
• the company’s development goals;
• the product and the production process;
• the market, demand and marketing opportunities;
• competition;
• business-related risks and their mitigation;
• environmental sustainability and resource efficiency;
• the necessary training and advisory activities;
• financial forecasts and cash flow;
• the projected sales revenue from self-produced agricultural products.

Projections must be prepared for the year in which the application is submitted and the following four financial years.

If the grant is to be used to acquire an agricultural enterprise, a valuation, assessment, or other relevant document demonstrating the reasonableness of the acquisition costs must also be submitted.

What other conditions should be checked before applying?

In addition to the basic conditions, PRIA also checks other circumstances relating to the applicant.

For example, the amount of national tax debt must generally be less than 100€ or the tax debt must have been duly deferred and payments due must have been made.

The applicant must not be subject to liquidation proceedings, have been declared bankrupt, or be subject to compulsory dissolution proceedings.

The impact of previous grants on eligibility must also be checked, and the required annual reports must be submitted to the commercial register before applying if their submission is required by law.

Will every eligible applicant receive 100 000 euros?

No.

100 000 euros is the maximum grant amount per applicant during the strategic plan period. This does not mean that every applicant will automatically receive the maximum amount or any funding at all.

PRIA evaluates applications based on the established assessment criteria and ranks them.

Projects that meet the requirements and minimum assessment criteria will receive support within the limits of the funding round's budget. The budget for the 2026 II funding round is 7 million euros.

Therefore, it is important not only to meet the conditions formally, but also to submit the strongest, most realistic and well-justified business plan possible.

When and where can an application be submitted?

The 2026 II application round is open:

from 30 September to 14 October 2026.

The application must be submitted electronically in the e-PRIA keskkonnas.

If an entrepreneur is applying for funding through PRIA for the first time, they must register as a PRIA client before submitting the application, if necessary.

PRIA will decide whether to approve or reject the application within 80 working days of the application deadline.

Who should definitely consider this funding round?

The funding round may be particularly important for a young entrepreneur who wants to start agricultural production, invest in equipment or production facilities, expand existing small-scale production, or take over an operating agricultural enterprise.

Support of up to 100 000 euros can reduce the amount of your own capital needed to get started and help you make investments that would be difficult to carry out using only your own funds.

However, this is not simply 100 000 euros in start-up funding. To receive the funding, the applicant must have a realistic business plan and, after the funding is granted, comply with specific requirements regarding activities, deadlines and duration.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the young farmer grant in 2026?

The maximum amount of support is 100 000 euros per applicant over the entire CAP Strategic Plan period.

When can an application be submitted in autumn 2026?

Applications will be accepted from 30 September to 14 October 2026.

What is the budget for the 2026 II funding round?

According to PRIA, the budget for the application round is 7 million euros.

Can a 40-year-old person apply for support?

Yes. The applicant may be up to 40 years old at the time of submitting the application, meaning that a person aged 40 may also meet the age requirement.

Is an agricultural education qualification required at the time of application?

Not always. If the required work experience, education or professional qualification is lacking, it can be acquired after the funding has been granted under the conditions laid down in the regulation, but the requirement must be met by 30 June 2029 at the latest.

Can the support be used to purchase an existing farm or agricultural enterprise?

Yes. The acquisition of the entire holding in a company operating in the agricultural sector or FIE the entire agricultural enterprise may be eligible for support if all the conditions of the measure are met.

Can the support be used to purchase a used tractor or other machine?

Yes, under certain conditions. Among other things, a used machine or piece of equipment must have been manufactured less than five years before the application date and must meet the conditions for receiving support.

Is funding granted automatically if all the conditions are met?

No. PRIA evaluates the applications and ranks them. Support is granted to eligible projects within the limits of the funding round's budget.

Ametlikud allikad

PRIA – Põllumajandusliku tegevusega alustava noore ettevõtja soodustamise investeeringutoetus 2026

Riigi Teataja – määrus nr 63, kehtiv redaktsioon alates 06.09.2026

Riigi Teataja – 2026 regulation amendment

PRIA – explanatory memorandum on the 2026 regulation amendment

The information in the article was verified on 12 September 2026. The conditions and guidelines for support measures may change. Before submitting an application, always check the current information on the PRIA website and in Riigi Teataja.

 Artificial intelligence was used to prepare the article. Although the information has been verified using public sources, the text may contain inaccuracies or information that has become outdated due to subsequent changes.