The Basque Government will allocate 400,000 euros to grants for agricultural producer groups

The Basque Government has approved the 2026 call within the PEPAC 2023-2027 plan, for producer groups, organizations, and federations in agriculture and forestry. The order approved by the Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries includes two lines of aid and a subsidy of 400,000 euros, and was signed by Commissioner Amaya Barredo Martín on November 3rd. The regulation was published in issue number 218 of the Boletín Oficial del País Vasco on November 13, 2026, with official reference 2026/4848.

The basis of the call is the structure of the European agricultural policy. The European Commission approved Spain’s PEPAC strategic plan on August 31, 2022, through decision C(2022)6017, and subsequently amended it three times via decisions C(2023)5746, C(2024)6133, and C(2025)5713. Within it, the Basque Country has programmed 18 rural development interventions with the EAFRD fund, one of which is intervention 7191, called “cooperation to support producer groups,” created specifically to improve the position of producers in the value chain.

Two lines of aid and a 400,000 euro subsidy

The call distinguishes between two paths. The first line finances the creation of groups formed and recognized in the community, with a subsidy of 100,000 euros. The second, meanwhile, supports new activities and projects developed by already recognized groups and their federations, with 300,000 euros.

The aid in the first line is calculated as a percentage of the value of the commercialized production, decreasing over five years: 10% in the first year, 9% in the second, 8% in the third, 7% in the fourth, and 6% in the fifth. New groups must present a five-year business plan and commit to increasing the commercialization volume or the number of members by 10% in the first three years, or by 20% in the first four years.

In the second line, new projects and cooperation activities are financed: adapting production to market needs, joint sales, common registration and information rules, waste management, technical consultancy for agricultural production, or the purchase of common input costs, among others.

50,000 euros per action and per year

In the second line, the maximum aid is 50,000 euros per action and per year, and the bases make it clear that this amount will not be automatic: each project must obtain at least 10 points in the evaluation. There are four scoring criteria, each worth 10 points: having product or process certifications, production plants or transformation facilities being located in special attention zones called ZEA, significant participation of women, and significant participation of those under 41 years of age.

Furthermore, the amount that each group may receive per year may not exceed 100,000 euros, and the grants are compatible with subsidies from other administrations, provided that the financing is not exceeded. However, they are incompatible with grants granted by the same Department for the same purpose.

Who may apply and how it will be evaluated

To be eligible for the grants, the group must be recognized according to Decree 10/2018, or be recognized throughout the duration of the PEPAC plan. The activities must be carried out within the territory of the Basque Autonomous Community, and the organization must be up to date with its tax obligations and Social Security, among other things; furthermore, it cannot be a company in crisis and cannot have had any severe sanctions against human rights, gender equality, or environmental regulations.

Applications will be managed by the Directorate of Rural Development and European Policies of the Department of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries. To evaluate the applications, a jury will be formed: José Luis Atucha Lapatza as head, Iker Ortega Ruiz as member, and Humberto Nogueira as secretary. Jone Loiola Barrainkua, Cristina Pereda Salvachúa, and Josune Sánchez Rosa have been appointed as substitutes.

On one hand, the call will be resolved through a competition; on the other, a procedure of continuous approval or assignment will be used. The resolution must be issued by the Undersecretary of Food and Rural Development, within a period of one month after the application deadline has ended. If no resolution is issued after that period, the applications will be considered rejected due to administrative silence.

Deadlines and justification

The application period is 10 calendar days, counting from the day following the publication, that is, until November 23rd. The process must be carried out through the electronic office of the Public Administration of the Basque Country, and one application must be submitted for each action.

Eligible expenses must be incurred between January 1, 2026, and March 15, 2027. After this period ends, there is a two-month period to justify the activity before the Directorate of Rural Development and European Policies, with an evaluative report and paid invoices. Large grants, those exceeding 30,000 euros, must verify compliance with the legislation against payment arrears.

Against the order, a resource for reversal may be filed before the Minister within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of the Basque Autonomous Community within two months.

This call is a fundamental tool for rural associations, not only because of the amount of funding, but also because of its ability to strengthen the collective structure: it allows small producers to unite, organize unified sales, and gain bargaining power in the market. The subsidy is limited to 400,000 euros, but two lines clearly mark the priority: the creation of new groups and, above all, innovative projects from established groups, giving priority to structures led by young people and women, and to those with quality certifications or installations in special care areas.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, n.º 218, 13 de noviembre de 2026, Otras disposiciones (referencia oficial: 2026/4848).