Lithuania opens €7 million support scheme for cleaner agricultural machinery

Funding window targets lower-emission equipment

Lithuania’s Environmental Project Management Agency, known as APVA, opened a new funding call on September 22 for farmers seeking less-polluting agricultural machinery. The €7 million program, financed through the country’s Climate Change Program, supports new equipment powered by electricity, biogas or biomethane. Alkas.lt and Suvalkietis reported that the measure is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and accelerate the adoption of more sustainable technology on Lithuanian farms.

The support is available to farmers, agricultural companies and very small, small and medium-sized agricultural cooperatives engaged in primary agricultural production. A single applicant or a joint application may receive up to €600,000. The grant can cover as much as 50% of eligible expenditure, and the rules do not impose a limit on the number of machinery units that may be purchased.

Applications are accepted through the APVIS self-service system from September 22. The window will remain open while the allocated funding is available, but for no longer than 12 months from the launch date. This makes the order and timing of submissions important for prospective buyers because the program can close once the €7 million budget has been committed.

Joint purchasing becomes available

A key change from earlier calls is the option to implement a project through a joint activity agreement. Two or more farmers can enter into a written agreement, file one application and purchase eligible agricultural equipment or a self-propelled machine together. The €600,000 ceiling applies to the joint application rather than separately to every participant in it.

The cooperative model is designed to spread the investment burden and improve utilization of machinery that may be too expensive for one farm. Environment Vice-Minister Aira Paliukėnaitė said shared purchases would give farmers greater flexibility, allow them to divide investment costs and use expensive lower-emission equipment more efficiently. Joint ownership may be particularly relevant for machines used intensively during a limited part of the agricultural season.

APVA Green Transformation Department head Agnė Markauskienė said Lithuania’s market for electric and biofuel-powered farm machinery is beginning to take shape. In that early market, public funding can reduce the initial cost barrier for farmers considering technology that remains expensive compared with established machinery. The scheme may also provide machinery suppliers with clearer evidence of demand for alternative-drivetrain models.

Eligible machinery and exclusions

Funding applies only to new equipment that can be registered in Lithuania’s Agricultural Machinery Register and meets the required basic configuration. Examples include tractors, harvesting machinery, loaders, self-propelled sprayers, mowers, shredders, slurry distributors, feed distributors and slurry tankers, as well as other machinery used in agricultural production. Eligible equipment must be powered by biogas, biomethane or electricity, translating the program’s support for second-generation biofuels and electrification into specific purchasing criteria.

The program excludes machinery not intended for agricultural use. Heavy quad bikes, snowmobiles, garden tractor-mowers, trailers, semi-trailers and various types of forestry machinery are not covered. Applicants will therefore need to verify both the machine’s intended agricultural function and its eligibility for registration before committing to a purchase.

Agriculture accounts for one-fifth of Lithuania’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to both publications. The government consequently treats lower-emission agricultural technology as part of its climate policy. The immediate commercial effect will depend on how quickly farms can assemble financing for the unsubsidized share, but the 50% reimbursement and joint-purchase option substantially reduce the capital required from individual participants.