BGK to guarantee up to 80 percent of farm loans from November

The Minister Finansów i Gospodarki has opened a new guarantee window under which Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will cover up to 80% of the outstanding amount of loans to farmers and agri-food SMEs, financed with money returned from the Program Rozwoju Obszarów Wiejskich na lata 2014–2020. The regulation was signed on 21 October 2026 and published in the Dziennik Ustaw of 26 October 2026 as Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1408. It enters into force on 1 November 2026 and creates two separate aid streams — de minimis aid and de minimis aid in agriculture — both delivered in the form of loan repayment guarantees.

The ordinance was issued under Article 34a(4)(2) and (3) of the Act of 8 May 1997 on sureties and guarantees granted by the State Treasury and certain legal persons. It sets the detailed conditions and procedure for aid granted within the government surety-guarantee programme, financed from the funds assigned to the rural development programme’s financial contribution and from interest, other income and profits generated by trading those funds, as defined in Article 50d(1) of the Act of 20 February 2015 on support for rural development. The money in question is what returns once the financing agreement referred to in Article 38(7) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 has been performed.

Two EU frameworks underpin the scheme. De minimis aid is granted under Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023, while agricultural de minimis aid follows Commission Regulation (EU) 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013. The new rules expressly disapply the earlier national framework contained in the Finance Minister’s regulation of 26 April 2024 (Dz.U. poz. 664).

Who qualifies

Paragraph 2 defines the eligible entrepreneur by reference to Article 50d(4) of the rural development act. Two groups are covered:

• agricultural producers carrying out agricultural activity;
• micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the agricultural sector, excluding fisheries and aquaculture, or providing services to agriculture and forestry.

Aid may be granted only once the condition laid down in Article 4(6)(a) of the relevant Commission regulation is satisfied, and only if the combined de minimis and agricultural de minimis aid received from different sources and in different forms stays within the ceiling set in Article 3(2) of that regulation for a single undertaking. The gross grant equivalent is calculated as prescribed in Article 4(6)(b), and aid may be combined with other aid in line with Article 5. It may also be topped up with the interest-rate subsidy provided for in Article 50d(4) of the 2015 act, granted to the same entrepreneur.

How the guarantee works

The guarantee covers no more than 80% of the loan amount still to be repaid. It may also cover loans forming part of a loan portfolio — a set of individual loans for which the total guarantee limit for a given period is fixed in the agreement concluded between Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and the lending bank.

Applications are filed by the entrepreneur with the lending bank, not directly with the state development bank. Depending on the stream, the applicant must attach the certificates, declarations and information required by Article 37(1) or Article 37(2) of the Act of 30 April 2004 on proceedings in public aid cases. Security for the guarantee is a blank promissory note issued by the entrepreneur in favour of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, and the aid is deemed granted on the day the guarantee is issued.

Deadlines and duration

• De minimis aid: granted until 30 June 2031.
• De minimis aid in agriculture: granted until 30 June 2033.
• Entry into force of the regulation: 1 November 2026.

The regulation was signed on behalf of the minister by J. Neneman, as acting Minister Finansów i Gospodarki.

For farmers and small agri-businesses the change matters because it turns repaid rural development money into a revolving, state-backed guarantee pool instead of leaving it idle, and it extends cover to working capital and investment loans taken from commercial lenders. The practical burden shifts to the banks, which must assess applications, verify the de minimis headroom of each borrower and agree portfolio guarantee limits with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego before any loan can be covered.

Source: Dziennik Ustaw, No. 1408 of 26 October 2026, section I (official reference: Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1408).