State aid for pig and cattle breeders 2026 (Laws 175/2026 and 176/2026, amended by Law 203/2026)

Yes. Law No 203/2026, published in Official Gazette No 865 of 15 October 2026, amends Law No 175/2026 and expressly includes legal entities established under Companies Law No 31/1990 (SRL, SA) among the beneficiaries. Applications are submitted to the county APIA office within 10 working days from the entry into force of the law.

EUR 11.9 for each housing place for fattening pigs and EUR 13.7 for each housing place for breeding animals (sows and gilts), calculated on the capacity in the sanitary-veterinary authorisation. The total amount cannot exceed the lei equivalent of EUR 50,000 per beneficiary, at the BNR exchange rate of 1 March 2026 (5.0953 lei/euro). The scheme budget is EUR 11,540,120; if eligible applications exceed it, the amount is reduced proportionally.

The farm must hold a sanitary-veterinary authorisation on the date the application is submitted and be registered in the APIA Single Identification Register, and the applicant must 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; breeding farms must maintain an average headcount of at least 30% of the housing capacity. Failure to meet the conditions leads to recovery of the aid with interest and penalties.

No. The submission window for the scheme under Law No 176/2026 closed on 24 September 2026, with 35,477 applications for 742,969 cattle and buffalo. For cattle, Law No 203/2026 brings only interpretative rules: the definition of a livestock holding and the inclusion of APIA among the users of SNIIA, so that farmers no longer have to carry documents between institutions. Payment is made by 31 December 2026.

Law No 203/2026 provides for a period of maximum 10 working days from the date of its entry into force. The law was promulgated by Decree No 815 of 14 October 2026 and published in Official Gazette No 865 of 15 October 2026. On 19 October 2026 APIA had not yet published an announcement with the exact date, but the statutory period is running; companies must contact the county APIA office without delay with their application and supporting documents.

Both laws provide that the state aid is paid by 31 December 2026, after the administrative checks and APIA inspections. The funding source is the Government's budget reserve fund, through an increase in the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Beneficiaries must report any change in their data within no more than 5 working days and may appeal the decision within 30 days of notification.

It depends on the complexity of the project and the documents you already have. The first step is the eligibility analysis, which tells you what needs to be prepared.

We tell you before any contract is signed, and if another suitable programme exists, we point you to it.