At the Salon de l’Agriculture, the conference “Transition agricole: quels financements pour les agriculteurs?” highlighted a paradox: while the need for a transition to more sustainable models is obvious, many farmers are struggling to put their projects into practice, caught between misguided public subsidies, increased banking requirements and the economic uncertainties of the first few years. So how can we support those with agro-ecological projects?

According to the major consultation conducted by The Shift Project in 2024, 9 out of 10 farmers are in favor of committing to or accelerating their transition to sustainable agriculture. This is excellent news for the future of the agricultural sector, which is highly exposed to the vagaries of the climate and is seeking a new economic model – one that is more rewarding for farmers, more virtuous for consumer health, less dependent on chemical inputs and less of an emitter of greenhouse gases.

Yet a large majority of farms are still in conventional agriculture, and agro-ecological initiatives are struggling to take their rightful place in the French landscape. Why is this? The answer lies in funding, among other things. Of the 54 billion euros of public support allocated each year to the French food system, only 16 billion are earmarked for farmers – via the Common Agricultural Policy, the National Initiative for French Agriculture (INAF), the Banque des Territoires or the Jeune Agriculteur grant, a (highly selective) scheme co-sponsored by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. However, according to theAccording to an analysis by the Institut de l’économie pour le climat I4CEless than 10% of this funding is dedicated to agricultural transition.

A difficult financial equation

As the climatic, economic and generational challenges intensify, the question of financing appears to be a decisive lever in the agricultural transition. The transition to agro-ecological practices requires substantial initial investment. In the case of a start-up, land is the first item on the budget, with a price generally seen at 500,000 euros for an average 60-hectare farm. When the bank finances this project, it is for the long term – up to 25 years of repayment – adding to the farmer’s burden and his desire to capitalize in a shorter timeframe to aim for profitability. Added to this are investments in equipmentwhich are both necessary and costly, further increase the price of the project, even doubling it. Lower yields are the main cost of the transition, and over 50% of the total cost of converting to organic farming.

While public schemes are an essential foundation, they are not enough to secure the most fragile phases of agro-ecological projects, particularly during the set-up phase or the first years of processing. And yet, over the past decade or so, banks have become increasingly risk-averse. Today, a farmer who wants to take over a farm – often within a family framework, but there are more and more farmers “outside” the family framework – and who applies to specialized banks (Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel) with a 10 to 20% down payment, has difficulty obtaining a loan. So, if not banks or public funds, who can farmers turn to to get their project off the ground? Between “green finance”, i.e. dedicated investment funds, financing programs supported by agri-food companies and innovative participative financing, project owners have to deal with piecemeal solutions whose amounts cannot cover all financial needs and are granted on a very specific basis, leaving many projects out in the cold.

The Tiina solution

Les Bouriettes farm, a dairy cattle farm near Carcassonne (Aude) that has converted to organic farming, is no stranger to the difficulties of the early years. My project required a total of over 1 million euros,” says Pierre Carensac, the farm’s manager. But the banks asked me for 500,000 euros in capital. I spent a year looking for other financing solutions. His farm is one of the first four agricultural prizewinners of Tiinathe Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation’s impact investment program dedicated to sustainable food. In 2025, in recognition of the difficulties faced by farmers in the field, the Foundation opened up its program, previously reserved for companies in the agri-food sector, to them, increasing the overall budget to 4 million euros. The principle: to grant winning farmers a loan of between €20,000 and €100,000 – €65,000 on average – for a term of 2 to 7 years. The interest rate, which is lower than the market rate, increases as agro-ecological objectives are achieved. For Pierre Carensac, the conclusion is clear: ” If there hadn’t been programs like Tiina, my project simply wouldn’t have been possible.

The program is aimed at agro-ecological installation or transition projects in the seed phase, in other words, at the time when project leaders need it most. ” Tiina slips into the interstices, the blind spots in agro-ecology financing. And the first few years are those that need the most support ,” explains Guilhem Soutou, head of investments at the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. However, projects must be sufficiently mature: ” We want to finance the part of the project that is most committed to the agricultural transition. The project must be well-constructed and include in-depth reflection on its economic viability, whether it’s an installation or a farm in transition. ”

The first four prizewinners share an essential common trait: they are difficult to finance through conventional channels, yet can prove to be exemplary for an industry, a sector or a region. ” These projects embody the agro-ecological transition. Through demonstration, they will help to anchor the agricultural transition in local areas,” adds Guilhem Soutou. Les Bouriettes is a cattle farm with high agro-ecological standards; Jardins de l’Aubinière, a peri-urban market gardening project in the Nantes region, promotes agro-ecological practices; Anne-Charlotte’s farmyard is a breeding farm of excellence for free-range hens and chickens; and finally, Chais de Bourbon, on the island of La Réunion, is reviving a local industry based on a virtuous farming ecosystem.

More than financing, an ecosystem

In addition to access to funding, the Foundation calls on Biosphères to provide agronomic support. This consulting firm, specialized in regenerative agriculture, offers its expertise to guide, secure and support the agro-ecological transition of agricultural entrepreneurs. Winners are offered two meetings a year. The first meeting, held within the first 6 months, provides an initial diagnosis and establishes a roadmap based on Regeneration Index. At the end of the loan, after customized support, a new assessment is carried out to check progress and consider the possibility of increasing the rate of financing.

Right from the project selection stage, Tiina favors exchanges between farmers, and with them, synergies. Les Bouriettes farm works on a daily basis with another winner of the Tiina food program, Bio&Lo/Delafermeto produce its organic yoghurts in a short circuit. Together, they have set up an innovative contractualization system that enables them to negotiate more effectively with banks, create value at the right price and share it fairly. A win-win system,” explains Pierre-Marie Brizou, co-founder of Delaferme. We’re not in a customer-supplier relationship, we’re partners, and that changes everything. ” For him, the Tiina program is not only a financing opportunity, but above all an ecosystem that provides what the project needs to grow: ” a network, allies, skills, stimulation, and that’s what we came for. “

In addition to supporting the economic development of agro-ecological projects, the Tiina program aims to create a community of agricultural entrepreneurs united around shared values and projects. Agroecology players are often isolated, they don’t see the richness of the agricultural transition that surrounds them and what they can draw from it in terms of relationships, resources or partnerships,” says Guilhem Soutou. It’s our role to create mutual enrichment in the broadest sense, so that the projects reinforce each other. ” The Tiina program aims to contribute to structuring an ecosystem capable of sharing risk, supporting skills development and promoting exemplarity. The challenge goes beyond supporting individual initiatives: it’s about demonstrating that other economic trajectories are possible, and that they can, in time, irrigate all sectors.

Crossed views

Organized as part of the Salon de l’Agriculture trade show, the “Agricultural transition: what financing for farmers?” round table offers a cross-section of public and private financing, new business models and feedback from the field.

With Sébastien Grandpré, Financing Manager at MiiMOSALucile Rogissart, Researcher Financing the agricultural transition, Food at I4CEInstitut de l’économie pour le climat; Guilhem Soutou, Head of Investments for the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation Simon Bestel, co-founder of FEVEa social-economy company helping the next generation of farmers to set up in business.

Photo credits: all rights reserved