ARDSI has started accepting the applications pursuant to IPARD III Programme 1st Call for Applications announced for 66 million euros of grant to be paid to eligible entrepreneurs in 81 provinces.
In the first call period of IPARD III Programme, which has been developed by EU as an instrument to support its candidate states and potential candidates financially in the field of rural development, several sectors including red/poultry meat slaughterhouses, meat cutting and processing plants, milk and whey procesing facilities, milk collection centers, fruit and vegetable cold storage warehouses, and fisheries and egg processing investments are going to be supported under the grant support item titled “Investments in Processing and Marketing of Agricultural and Fisheries Products”.
Project applications are to be accepted at https://onlinebasvuru.tkdk.gov.tr/ from Friday on April 5, at 09:00 a.m. until 18:00 p.m. on 7th May, Tuesday. Application documentation as specified in the call announcement are supposed to be submitted to the ARDSI Provincial Coordination and Contact Offices until the end of working hours 9th May, Thursday.
Advantages of the sector investments
Once established, the agricultural and livestock processing facilities help transform the raw materials into products of better value, producing economic added value in rural areas and opportunities for the producers to make greater income. They create new employment opportunities for citizens by establishing new business sectors such as production, packaging, storage, and distribution chain.
The processed products require modern manufacturing technology and innovative processes. This strengthens the local economy by increasing local businesses' access to technology and innovation, and by promoting technology transfer in rural areas.
The application and evaluation process of projects
The process for approval of the submitted project applications unfolds as follows:
Information and publicity activities
ARDSI conducts information and publicity activities using all types of communication tools in order to promote public awareness and provide detailed information about the application process to potential applicants regarding IPARD grants.
Announcement of the call for applications
Calls for applications are published covering all the information about measures for which projects will be accepted by ARDSI, the support budgets allocated for these measures, the registration and acceptance dates for the online application system, and the locations where application packages will be submitted.
These announcements, which officially initiate the application process, are communicated to the public through the institution's website and other communication channels.
Preparation and submission of the application packages
Applicants wishing to submit their projects to benefit from IPARD grants can prepare their application packages themselves or through consultancy services, utilizing guide documents published on the institution's website related to the measure announced in the call for applications.
In addition, applicants are supposed to enter the requested information into the institution's online application system and obtain approval for their application. Afterwards, applicants will submit the prepared application package along with the signed application form obtained from the online application system to the Institution's Provincial Coordination Units or Provincial Contact Offices.
It is mandatory to adhere to the dates specified in the call for applications for entering applications into the online system and delivering application packages to the institution.
Application package controls by ARDSI
The packages submitted by applicants are first registered in the Application Registration System of ARDSI, and the entire package is scanned and uploaded to the digital archive.
Subsequently, two experts are assigned to each application package to conduct administrative (completeness) and eligibility checks. During the administrative review, if any document deficiencies are identified, the applicant will be notified to complete them within a specified timeframe.
Upon completion of the deficiencies in the application package, ARDSI checks whether the applicant, project, and proposed costs comply with the announced conditions. Simultaneously, site visits to the investment are conducted to perform the pre-contracting on-the-spot controls.
Controls, selection of the projects to be supported and contracting procedures at the HQ
The application packages approved by the ARDSI Provincial Coordination Units and sent to the headquarters undergo another round of checks to address potential errors and ensure thorough review through sampling. Subsequently, all approved projects undergo economic and sustainability analyses of their business plans, and each project is scored accordingly.
After these processes are completed, projects are initially ranked based on the scoring criteria established in the IPARD Programme. If the budget is sufficient, those projects that score adequately at this stage are selected for support.
If the support budget is insufficient for all eligible projects, among projects with equal IPARD ranking scores, those with higher business plan scores are selected. If both scores are the same, priority is given to projects that were submitted earlier to the institution.
The list of projects approved and ranked by the institution is submitted for review and approval by the Project Evaluation and Selection Commission, which consists of representatives from various ministries. The list of projects approved by the commission is published on the institution's website, and the owners are invited to sign a "Grant Contract."
Project owners who sign grant contracts with the institution thereby become "IPARD beneficiaries" and begin implementing their investments.
