The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp) and Intesa Sanpaolo signed an agreement today to promote credit policies and synergies aimed at the development of the agricultural and agri-food sector, also in relation to the measures of the Plan National Recovery and Resilience. Intesa Sanpaolo will make 20 billion euros available to the sector to relaunch Italian agriculture - as part of the larger credit ceiling of 410 billion euros to support the Pnrr initiatives - also using the funding provided by Cdp.

The agreement was presented in the Cavour Room of the Ministry, in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida . Speakers included Dario Scannapieco, CEO of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti; Stefano Barrese (photo), head of the Intesa Sanpaolo Territorial Bank Division; Mauro Micillo , head of Imi Corporate & Investment Banking Division Intesa Sanpaolo.

The primary objective of the agreement is to identify investment programs for: - valorisation and development of Italian production chains; - research, experimentation, technological innovation and product valorisation; - energy saving, circular economy and animal welfare interventions; - internationalization of agricultural businesses and support for expansion into foreign markets; - generational change in agriculture, business networks, digitalisation and e-commerce; - support for young generations who start new entrepreneurial activities in agriculture or develop existing ones; - access to facilitation initiatives for the sector, in particular the Pnrr and the National Plan for Complementary Investments (Pnc).

To support access to credit and guidance towards alternative financing channels by companies in the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Intesa Sanpaolo intend to develop an intervention aimed at encouraging more efficient management of the warehouse of products characterized by long maturation, promoting the improvement of the financial position of companies.

Intesa Sanpaolo, with the specialized professionals of the Banca dei Territori Division - which through the Agribusiness Department operates throughout the national territory with a network of approximately 250 operating points, of which 88 dedicated branches, and over 1,000 professionals serving over 84 thousand customers - strongly believes in the dialogue between public and private and, also thanks to the IMI CIB Division, works alongside customers and institutions to create new specialist financial solutions to support strategic initiatives such as this. The agreement, in fact, demonstrates how this collaboration can concretely contribute to the creation of impactful, innovative and sustainable projects, aimed at strategic production chains in our country, to increase their relevance and competitiveness also in foreign markets.

The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has provided 15 billion euros to the agri-food world from 2020 to 2023. The institutional mission of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is to promote the development of the country also through multiple types of intervention in favor of the productive fabric. In this regard, agriculture and agri-food have been identified by Cdp among the strategic sectors to be supported through the launch of new initiatives as part of the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. In particular, to facilitate access to credit for companies in the sector, Cdp promotes a series of interventions including subsidized loans granted through the Business Revolving Fund (FRI), alongside non-repayable contributions disbursed from resources of the Pnrr or the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, funding lines for indirect support to SMEs and Mid-Caps, basket bond initiatives and direct financing to larger companies.