Debt finance and use of credit guarantee instruments for agricultural enterprises in the EU

This study investigates the activity of financial intermediaries and guarantee institutions in the agricultural sector in the EU, using information from direct interviews in a selected sample of EU Member States. It assesses how credit guarantee instruments (including counter-guarantees) could improve access to finance for farmers and agricultural enterprises by reducing interest rates and collateral requirements, as well as financial intermediaries’ interest in the sector and their perception of the potential benefit of public support in the form of guarantee or counter-guarantee instruments.

It provides information on the financial intermediaries that use such type of instruments, analyses the key advantages for farmers and agricultural enterprises, and investigates the interest for a potential credit guarantee schemes, set-up at national or European level and funded through EAFRD to improve access to agricultural finance. In addition to direct guarantees, this study analyses the interest of financial intermediaries for public counter-guarantee instruments.