It was signed yesterday by the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies Stefano Patuanelli, the decree for the development of agri-food logistics through the improvement of the logistical capacity of ports, to which 150 million euros are allocated for the years from 2022 to 2026 as part of the PNRR measure "Logistics development for the agri-food, fishing and aquaculture sectors , forestry, floriculture and nursery ".
This decree completes the panorama of implementation of the PNRR measure of which the Mipaaf is the owner, together with the two other decrees issued on 13 June (Contracts for agri-food logistics, with the beneficiaries of the companies in the sector) and on 5 August last (Modernization of the markets wholesale for the purpose of promoting agri-food logistics).
According to the Ministerial decree, which defines the general provisions for the implementation of the measure, projects aimed at:
- create, re-functionalize, expand, restructure and digitize areas, spaces and buildings connected to the activities and logistical processes of the port areas;
- to improve efficiency and to improve commercial and logistic capacity through interventions aimed at strengthening the infrastructures for food transport, also in order to reduce environmental costs and emissions in the transport of raw materials, semi-finished products and goods between production centers, logistics centers and markets;
- improve accessibility to hub services and strengthen the security of port infrastructures also through the use of innovative and / or 'zero emissions' technologies;
- strengthen product controls aimed at preserving the differentiation of products for quality, sustainability and production characteristics, also in order to reduce food waste;
- reduce environmental impacts through energy redevelopment and increase the level of environmental protection.
Port system authorities can apply for access to the grant, with a maximum of two projects per applicant. An amount equal to at least 40% of the resources dedicated to the measure is intended to finance projects to be carried out in the regions of Southern Italy.
Each investment project must have an overall cost between 5 and 20 million euros, for a maximum grant of 10 million euros. In some of the categories of eligible investments, the grant granted cannot exceed the difference between the eligible costs and the operating result of the investment (funding gap). The subsidies will be granted as a non-repayable grant, in the form of a direct grant, on the basis of a ranking-based evaluation selection procedure.
The terms, methods and schemes for submitting requests will be defined with a subsequent Notice.