The French National Agricultural Initiative – L’Initiative Nationale pour l’Agriculture Française (INAF) – is a new financial instrument designed by the French Ministry of Agriculture (FMA) in close collaboration with the EIF. It is part of the first pillar of the French Investment Plan 2018-2022 (Grand Plan d’Investissement 2018-2022), which aims to mobilise over EUR 5bn of investments to support French farmers.
Its main objective is to create lasting impact in the agricultural sector offering better access to (debt) financing to young farmers, upstream production activities and agro-ecological transition. The objective is to catalyse EUR 800–1000m of investments.
INAF uniquely combines resources from the FMA and from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), resulting in a substantially boosted capped portfolio guarantee with a first loss piece from the French government and a second loss piece from EFSI.
INAF complements other regional mandates currently implemented by the EIF in France, such as FOSTER or ALTER’NA.
These financial instruments respond to the recognition that the long-term development of the agricultural sector is of strategic importance for the French economy.
More broadly, in the European Union, almost 22 million people are active in or dependent on agriculture. The EIF has therefore dedicated considerable efforts to designing financial instruments that effectively respond to market needs in this sector.
The EIF is currently looking for financial intermediaries to implement this first loss portfolio guarantee instrument.
Who is eligible to become a financial intermediary?
The Call for Expression of Interest addresses financial institutions that are authorised to carry out lending or leasing activities to final recipients established and/or operating in France, in line with the applicable legislation. For the complete set of eligibility and other criteria, please refer to the call documentation below.
How to apply to become a financial intermediary under INAF?
- Following their proof of eligibility, interested applicants may download the Call for Expression of Interest documents as follows:
- INAF Call for Expression of Interest / INAF Appel à manifestation d’intérêt ouvert (PDF / DOC)
- Template for the provision of data / Modèle des données quantitatives requises (XLS)