State aid for pigs and cattle: SRLs can claim €11.9 per place under Law 203/2026

Law No 203/2026, published in Official Gazette No 865 of 15 October 2026, explicitly includes commercial companies incorporated under Law No 31/1990 among the beneficiaries of the state aid scheme for pig farmers (Law No 175/2026) and opens a new window for submitting applications to APIA, lasting 10 working days from its entry into force. The support remains 11.9 euro per housing place for fattening pigs and 13.7 euro per place for breeding animals, with a ceiling of 50,000 euro per beneficiary. For cattle farmers, the same law clarifies the notion of holding and gives APIA direct access to SNIIA data, without reopening submission. APIA has not yet announced the exact calendar of the new period for the pig sector.

In brief

• Programme: the state aid schemes for farmers in the pig sector (Law No 175/2026) and the cattle sector (Law No 176/2026), established in the context of the Middle East crisis and amended by Law No 203/2026
• Authority: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; applications are submitted to the APIA county centres or to the Bucharest Municipality Centre
• Beneficiaries: pigs: PFAs (sole traders), individual and family businesses, cooperatives and agricultural companies and, under Law No 203/2026 (published on 15 October), commercial companies (SRL, SA), all with holdings authorised by the sanitary-veterinary authorities; cattle: farmers with at least 10 head (5 in mountain areas)
• Total budget: 11,540,120 euro (58.8 million lei) for pigs; 54.4 million euro (277.18 million lei) for cattle, from the Government's budget reserve fund
• Value per project: 11.9 euro/place for fattening pigs and 13.7 euro/place for breeding; 68 euro/head of cattle or buffalo; maximum 50,000 euro per beneficiary
• Submission period: the first window, 1–24 September 2026, is closed; for commercial companies in the pig sector, 10 working days from the entry into force of Law No 203/2026, with the exact dates to be communicated by APIA
• Status: law published, awaiting the APIA announcement; payments are made by 31 December 2026

What does Law 203/2026 change?

In its original form, Law No 175/2026 listed PFAs (sole traders), individual and family businesses, agricultural cooperatives and agricultural companies as beneficiaries. Commercial companies incorporated under Law No 31/1990, which is exactly the form in which most industrial pig farms operate, were not expressly named in the text. Law No 203/2026 corrects this omission: legal entities incorporated under the Companies Law can also benefit from the scheme on request, and their applications must be submitted within 10 working days of the new law's entry into force.

For the cattle sector, Law No 203/2026 brings no new money and does not reopen submission, but introduces two interpretive rules. The first: the "holding in the livestock sector" of a natural or legal person covers all facilities, buildings or open-air areas where animals are kept, raised or handled, permanently or temporarily, except veterinary clinics and surgeries, each facility having a code allocated by ANSVSA. The second: the "users of the National System for the Identification and Registration of Animals" also include APIA, so that herd checks are carried out through data exchange between institutions, not with documents carried by the farmer.

The Ministry of Agriculture explained, when the law was adopted in the Chamber of Deputies on 23 September, that the new provisions "simplify farmers' access to support and eliminate situations in which applications could be rejected as a result of restrictive interpretations", and that after publication in the Official Gazette APIA will communicate the new submission period, the deadline and the method of submission.

Who can apply and under what conditions?

In the pig sector, the beneficiary must hold holdings authorised by the sanitary-veterinary authorities on the date of submitting the application, be registered in the APIA Single Identification Register and not have been in liquidation or bankruptcy on 28 February 2026. Fattening and/or breeding activity must be carried out between 1 March and 31 December 2026. Fattening farms must complete at least one production cycle, and breeding farms must have an average herd of at least 30% of housing capacity. Herd numbers must be documented by 31 January 2027.

In the cattle sector, the conditions were already applied in the September window: at least 10 head of cattle or buffalo (5 in mountain areas) held on 1 March 2026, aged at least 22 months on 28 February 2026, registered in the National Database in the applicant's name; at least 75% of the herd applied for had to be maintained on 5 October 2026. The clarifications in Law No 203/2026 apply when checking applications already submitted.

How much does a farm receive? Worked example

The aid for pigs is calculated per housing place, not per animal delivered. A farm with 2,000 fattening places would receive 2,000 × 11.9 = 23,800 euro, and a breeding unit with 500 places for sows and gilts adds 500 × 13.7 = 6,850 euro, a total of 30,650 euro, below the ceiling. A farm with 5,000 fattening places would exceed the ceiling (59,500 euro) and receive only 50,000 euro. APIA has specified that the lei equivalent is calculated at the BNR exchange rate of 1 March 2026, 5.0953 lei/euro, so the ceiling is approximately 254,765 lei.

Two rules reduce the final amount. The 50,000 euro ceiling applies together with other aid received under the same European temporary framework for the Middle East crisis, which the applicant declares in the application. And if the value of eligible applications exceeds the scheme's budget, the amount is reduced proportionally for all beneficiaries. In the first window, the 234 applications in the pig sector covered 1,205,621 fattening places and 126,679 breeding places, while the 35,477 applications in the cattle sector covered 742,969 animals.

How and by when do you apply?

The application and supporting documents are submitted to the APIA county centre to which the holding belongs or to the Bucharest Municipality Centre, on the forms in the guides published by APIA on 27 August 2026. For cattle, the list includes the identity document or registration certificate, the tax code, bank details, the document showing the herd on 1 March 2026 and on the date of the application, plus the declaration on own responsibility. Beneficiaries must notify APIA within 5 working days of any change of bank account or form of organisation.

The concrete deadline for commercial companies in the pig sector depends on the date of entry into force of Law No 203/2026, which the official sources do not state explicitly. The general rule in the Constitution is entry into force 3 days after publication; applied to the publication on 15 October, the 10-working-day window would end around 30 October 2026. This is an indicative calculation, not an announced deadline: as of 19 October, APIA's latest announcements (of 15–16 October) concern the advance payment campaign and the wine sector, not this scheme. Check the APIA announcement before relying on a date.

What this means for your business

If you are an SRL or SA with a pig farm authorised by the sanitary-veterinary authorities and you did not apply in September (or your application was rejected because of your form of organisation), this is the second and, as far as is officially known, the last chance in 2026. Our recommendation: do not wait for the APIA announcement to start preparing. The 10 working days pass quickly, and the application requires exact data on authorised housing capacity, not on the current herd.

• Check the sanitary-veterinary authorisation of each holding: the housing capacity in the authorisation is the basis for the calculation, and an expired authorisation, or one not updated after extensions, means lost places.
• Update the APIA Single Register (bank account, administrator, CUI) and prepare a recent certificate of incorporation details from the Trade Register.
• List the aid received in 2026 under the EU temporary framework for the Middle East crisis: it counts towards the 50,000 euro ceiling and must be declared.
• Document the production cycle (fattening) or the average herd of at least 30% of capacity (breeding): failure to meet the conditions leads to recovery of the aid with interest and penalties.

Cattle farmers have nothing to submit now. However, if your September application was called into question because the animals were in several locations or because of missing SNIIA documents, the new interpretive rules are the argument to use in an appeal, which must be lodged within 30 days of the decision being communicated. For other schemes open to farms, use the eligibility check.

Frequently asked questions

Does an SRL that applied in September have to apply again?

Law No. 203/2026 does not say that applications submitted by commercial companies in the first call window are cancelled; it explicitly includes this category among the beneficiaries and opens a new window of 10 working days. How APIA will treat applications that have already been registered will be specified in the announcement on the new submission period. Until then, we recommend that you keep the registration number of your original application and follow the APIA announcement.

Can you receive more than 50,000 euro for several holdings?

No. The ceiling of 50,000 euro (around 254,765 lei at the rate of 5.0953 lei/euro) applies per undertaking, regardless of the number of holdings, and includes any other aid received under the same European temporary framework. In addition, if eligible applications exceed the budget of 11,540,120 euro for pigs or 54.4 million euro for cattle, the amounts are reduced proportionally.

When are the payments made?

Both laws provide for the aid to be paid by 31 December 2026. On 29 September, APIA announced that it is carrying out the administrative checks and controls set out in the guides, and payment decisions or rejection notices are communicated once these are completed. Amounts above 10,000 euro are published on the APIA website.

Can cattle breeders submit new applications under Law 203/2026?

No. Law No. 203/2026 does not reopen submissions for the cattle sector; it only interprets the notions of holding and SNIIA user, so that APIA does not reject applications on formal grounds. The 35,477 applications submitted between 1 and 24 September 2026 are under verification.

Official sources

• APIA – announcement of 27 August 2026: the guides for the state aid schemes for pigs and cattle
• APIA – support measures funded from the national budget (guides and forms, Laws 175/2026 and 176/2026)
• Agerpres – Chamber of Deputies: the categories of beneficiaries of the scheme for the pig sector are extended (23 September 2026)
• MADR announcement of 23 September 2026 on the amendments to the two schemes
• Law No. 203/2026 (Official Gazette No. 865 of 15 October 2026) – overview of the amendments
• Law No. 175/2026 – the state aid scheme for the pig sector (conditions, amount, budget)
• Summary of Official Gazette No. 865 of 15 October 2026

Information checked on 19 October 2026. Conditions may be changed by the managing authority — check the guide in force before you submit.