Advancing with financial instruments for agriculture and rural development

Over 200 delegates from 25 Member States gathered in Paris on 10 October for the third high-level annual fi‑compass conference on financial instruments using the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The conference aimed to take stock of progress made so far and raise further awareness about how financial instruments can help deliver on EAFRD objectives, especially in the fields of agriculture, agri-food, forestry and rural entrepreneurship. It was opened by Phil Hogan, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development who confirmed the role and place that financial instruments must have for agriculture, agri-food and for boosting growth and employment in rural economies.

At the conference, a number of emerging and existing financial instruments were presented. One of these examples is the Occitanie region (France) where an EAFRD guarantee instrument is already helping farmers and rural entrepreneurs to improve their business competitiveness and investment situation.  Further case study material was presented from Estonia, Romania, Italy, Greece, and Slovenia. Two documentary videos are now available for the wider public to see the benefits on the ground from EAFRD financial instruments.

Visit the conference's event page to view and share videos of all the sessions, as well as presentations and other resources, including illustrated cartoon drawings of key messages from speakers. This fi-compass conference followed previous annual EAFRD conferences in Dublin (2015) and Brussels (2016). Our annual EAFRD conference for next year is scheduled for Sofia in June.