Agriculture and agtech funding consultant for companies across the EU

Yes, we work with agtech companies across the EU. Without a German entity, the main routes are the EIC Accelerator and Horizon Europe, which are open to companies established in an EU member state or an associated country, and Eurostars, led by an innovative SME from a participating country. German national programmes come into play once you have a permanent establishment or branch in Germany.

The EIC Accelerator, Eurostars and Horizon Europe are the three to check first. The EIC Accelerator funds a single startup or SME with a grant below €2.5M, covering 70% of eligible costs, and optional equity of €1M to €10M; in 2026 one of its Challenges targets biotech for regenerating agricultural soils. Eurostars funds international R&D projects led by an innovative SME. Horizon Europe funds consortia under Cluster 6. National funding can come on top, as long as the same costs are never funded twice.

Yes, if it is taxable in Germany, typically through a German subsidiary or a permanent establishment. The tax authorities treat taxpayers with unlimited and with limited tax liability as eligible, so a foreign company with a German permanent establishment can claim. The allowance is 25% of eligible R&D costs, 35% for SMEs, credited against German tax. Contract research counts only if the contractor is managed in the EU, or in an EEA state that provides administrative assistance in tax matters.

Under the Research Allowance, trials qualify when they resolve technical or agronomic uncertainty through a planned method; the certifying body (BSFZ) applies the same tests to agriculture as to any sector. Routine testing and trials run only to generate data for approval or registration do not count. Grant programmes such as KMU-innovativ and Eurostars fund trials as part of an R&D project with an open outcome. Horizon Europe funds field trials and demonstration where a Cluster 6 topic asks for them. We help you separate development from routine in the project description.

Yes, for genuine R&D, mainly through the Research Allowance. The law names income from agriculture and forestry among the eligible types of income, so a farm taxable in Germany can claim for qualifying R&D just like a commercial company. Grant and investment programmes are narrower: ZIM and GRW exclude primary agricultural production, and BAFA EEW excludes crop and livestock measures apart from renewable process heat. Normal farm operations are not R&D under any programme.

Yes, mainly through KMU-innovativ: Bioökonomie. It funds high-risk bioeconomy research by SMEs and by mid-sized companies with up to 1,000 staff and €100M turnover, and names plant breeding and plant health among its example topics; biologicals and other inputs are assessed against that scope project by project. Projects start with an outline, alone or with research partners, and need a permanent establishment or branch in Germany when the grant is paid out.

For the Research Allowance, yes: depreciation on equipment such as test rigs, field robots and sensor systems can be included. The asset must be movable, acquired or produced after 27 March 2024, used exclusively in the R&D project and necessary for it. Low-value assets written off immediately or pooled, such as an inexpensive single sensor, do not count, and the certifying body (BSFZ) confirms each asset. Grant programmes set their own rules on equipment.

Yes, several programmes are built for that stage. The Research Allowance is paid out even when the company makes a loss: whatever exceeds your tax bill is refunded. The EIC Accelerator accepts startups, and even founders who will set up the company before the grant agreement is signed. Founders still at a German university or research institute can start with EXIST.

Yes, within each programme's limits. Under the Research Allowance, contract research counts at 70% of the fee for contracts placed after 27 March 2024 (60% before), but only if the contractor is managed in the EU, or in an EEA state that provides administrative assistance in tax matters. Under KMU-innovativ, Eurostars and Horizon Europe, universities and research institutes usually join as funded project partners instead.

No. We work on research and innovation funding: tax credits and grants for developing new technology, products and methods. Area payments, investment aid for farms and other agricultural subsidies are run through separate national and regional schemes, and we do not apply for them. If your farm runs genuine R&D, the Research Allowance and the other programmes on this page are where we can help.

For the Research Allowance our fee is purely success-based: 10% of the funding up to €500k per year and 5% above that, due only after payout. For all other programmes the fee is a fixed share plus a success component, both agreed in advance. The first eligibility check is free and comes with no obligation.