Agriculture calls for five million in agricultural grants from the Nuclear Transition Fund

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARPA) has announced investment grants for agricultural holdings endowed with 5,000,000.00 euros within the framework of the Nuclear Transition Fund (FTN). The call is approved by Resolution ARP/3287/2026, of September 10, and is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC) no. 9754, of September 18, 2026, with the reference CVE-DOGC-A-26259037-2026. The deadline for submitting applications is one month starting from the day after publication.

The call derives from the regulatory bases approved by Order ARP/76/2026, of May 11 (DOGC no. 9665, of 14.5.2026), and responds to the agreements of the session of the Fund’s governing body on April 9, 2026, which unanimously approved a competitive line for the beneficiary territories of planning zones I and II of the external nuclear emergency plan for the Ascó and Vandellòs power plants (PENTA). The declared purpose is to alleviate the socioeconomic impact of the future closure of the plants, reinforcing the viability, competitiveness, and sustainability of the agricultural holdings in the affected areas. The grants are framed within article 14 of Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2472, with the aid reference SA.123671 and the code BDNS 929691.

Five million divided into equal parts between PENTA I and PENTA II

The maximum amount of the call is 5,000,000.00 euros, allocated to the budget application AG02 D/770000100/6120/0072 AINSTA-NU of the DARPA budgets for the year 2028. The distribution is symmetrical between the two territorial scopes:

• 50% of the budget is allocated to holdings located in municipalities of the PENTA I affected area.
• The other 50% is allocated to holdings in municipalities of the PENTA II area.
• Any surplus assigned to one of the two zones may be applied to the other.
• The allocation may be increased according to article 92.4.b of the revised text of the Public Finance Law of Catalonia, and the processing is multi-annual.

The territorial scope is detailed in Annex III of the Resolution. In the PENTA I zone, among others, are listed Ascó, Corbera d’Ebre, El Molar, Flix, Garcia, La Fatarella, La Figuera, La Palma d’Ebre, La Torre de l’Espanyol, L’Ametlla de Mar, Móra d’Ebre, Móra la Nova, Riba-roja d’Ebre, Tivissa, Vinebre, Mont-roig del Camp, Pratdip, and Vandellòs i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant. The PENTA II zone includes dozens of municipalities from Priorat, Ribera d’Ebre, Terra Alta, Baix Camp, Baix Ebre, Montsià, Segrià, and les Garrigues, such as Falset, Gandesa, Batea, Miravet, Xerta, El Perelló, Riudoms, Seròs, Aitona, or Maials. A farm is considered to be in zone I when 50% or more of the cultivated land, the livestock farm, or the investment in real estate is located in PENTA I municipalities; in all other cases, it is classified in zone II.

Up to 65% of the investment and priority for youth and women

The grant covers up to 65% of eligible expenses and increases by 10% when the holder is a young farmer established within five years prior to the application, including cases of shared establishment, joint ownership, or in a company. The total investment volume across three calls cannot exceed 200,000.00 euros per work unit (UTA), with a maximum of 700,000.00 euros per farm; for the creation of new official livestock brands, the limit reaches 800,000.00 euros per farm.

Eligible actions are:

• Construction, acquisition, or improvement of agricultural warehouse buildings, similar real estate, or agricultural shelters.
• Acquisition and installation of new machinery and equipment, including precision farming systems (GPS, yield sensors, auto-guidance, telemetry).
• Livestock investments that increase the capacity registered in the Registry of Livestock Farms or create new official brands.
• Linked general expenses, such as architects’ and engineers’ fees or feasibility studies, up to 8% of the eligible investment, with a maximum of 4% for management expenses.

The assessment of applications is based on a maximum of 75 points, with criteria such as the status of young farmer (25 or 20 points), the classification of priority agricultural holding (20 points), location in areas with natural limitations (7 or 10 points), investment in new machinery exceeding 50% (7 points), female ownership (5 points), and registration with the Catalan Council for Organic Agricultural Production (CCPAE) with at least 50% of the investment in organic farming (8 points). The Assessment Commission is composed of the deputy directors general of Rural Planning, Direct Aid Management and Control, and Agriculture. The instructing body is the Agricultural Competitiveness Aid Service, and the head of the Directorate General for Rural Development issues the resolution.

Execution, justification, and appeal deadlines

Applications are submitted electronically through the Electronic Office of the Generalitat de Catalunya using the standardized DARPA forms. The resolution must be issued and published within a maximum period of six months from the day after the publication of the call; if this period expires without an express resolution, the application is considered rejected by administrative silence.

The execution deadline for the actions ends on March 1, 2028, and the deadline for justification and submission of payment requests is March 15, 2028, with the possibility of an extension. Against the Resolution, which ends the administrative route, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia within two months, or an appeal for reversal before the head of the DARPA within one month. The Resolution is signed by the counselor Òscar Ordeig i Molist, and, by order of the office (Decree 158/2026, of September 4, DOGC no. 9748, of 9.9.2026), the counselor of Economy and Finance, Alícia Romero Llano.

The call reaches the agricultural sector of the regions of Ebre, Priorat, Camp de Tarragona, and Segrià at a time of energy transition, and opens a one-month window for holdings in PENTA I and II zones to submit investment projects with public financing of up to 65%.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, no. 9754, September 18, 2026, Other provisions (official reference: CVE-DOGC-A-26259037-2026).