At the International Agriculture Fair, the EIB and Crédit Agricole Group officially released the third and final tranche of Crédit Agricole’s ‘Prêt PME et Mid-Cap Agriculture II’ financing programme for SMEs and mid-caps. This EUR 300 million programme, broken down into three tranches of EUR 100 million provided over a period of three years, was launched in 2016. Under the programme, loans are granted on attractive terms to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors.

At the International Agriculture Fair, the European Investment Bank and Crédit Agricole Group officially released the third and final tranche of Crédit Agricole’s ‘Prêt PME et Mid-Cap Agriculture II’ financing programme for SMEs and mid-caps. This EUR 300 million programme, broken down into three tranches of EUR 100 million provided over a period of three years, was launched in 2016. Under the programme, loans are granted on attractive terms to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors.

Crédit Agricole benefits from favourable terms on the financial markets thanks to the AAA rating enjoyed by the EIB, the bank of the European Union, and passes on the benefits in its loans to the final beneficiaries in the farming sector.

EUR 225 million has already been lent to more than 640 farmers via 27 of Crédit Agricole's Caisses Régionales (regional banks). The average amount lent is EUR 350 000. Over 27% of these loans concerned transition projects (24% in the field of methanation and 3% in photovoltaics).

“We are pleased with the success of this operation which illustrates the EU's commitment to supporting France’s farming sector. It is also designed to promote the environmental transition and help farmers build the agricultural model of the future”, said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “By offering better terms to borrowers, the EIB and Crédit Agricole Group are playing a key role in transforming the sector and we hope that our partnership will soon lead to other major initiatives supporting the environmental transition and young farmers.”

“We are delighted with the success of this partnership, which meets our goal of providing effective solutions to our farming customers via Crédit Agricole's Caisses Régionales. We wish to deepen this cooperation, particularly to help young farmers via new financing packages”, stated Jean-Christophe Roubin, Director of Agriculture at the Crédit Agricole S.A. Group. 

At the International Agriculture Fair, Crédit Agricole confirmed its commitment to the farming sector. In addition to this partnership, the Group is committed to the ‘Solutions Contract’ and has announced the creation of a EUR 200 million transition fund and an initiative to support organic projects as well as confirming its participation in fund-raising for the start-up The Green Data and its partnership with the “Bienvenue à la ferme” association and Chambers of Agriculture.