FEADER 77.04 — Cooperation for generational renewal in agriculture

1. Objective

Facilitate the transfer of farms to new farmers, preserve agricultural land and pass on know-how between transferors and successors. The intervention specifically targets the problem of access to land in Guadeloupe.

2. Actions supported

• Land facilitation to identify farms to be transferred.
• Identification of and advice to owners of usable agricultural land.
• Preparation and monitoring of a transfer plan.
• Administrative, technical and, where necessary, legal support.
• Feasibility studies related to an actual transfer.
• Mentoring of the successor by the transferor.
• Transfer of knowledge on running the farm and integration of the successor into their professional network.

3. Beneficiaries and mandatory partnership

The partnership must bring together at least:

• A farmer who is transferring or will transfer the farm.
• A successor with a farm set-up project.
• A support organisation competent in matters of farm set-up and transfer, in particular the Chamber of Agriculture or SAFER.

The support organisation is the lead partner and official applicant. It receives the grant and must pass on to the partners the share due to them under the agreement.

Under the PSR V6, the transferor must have already reached, or be due to reach, the legal retirement age by the end of the cooperation period. The operational guidance notice consulted also mentions an age criterion of over 57 years: this wording must be checked against the specifications of the applicable call.

• Be an active farmer.
• Operate as a sole trader or through a company, with its registered office in Guadeloupe.
• Not be in compulsory liquidation.

The project cannot be organised between spouses or partners. The successor must have a genuine farm set-up project, meet the definition of an active farmer at the time of final payment, and take part in only one cooperation project of this kind with a transferor.

4. Implementation conditions

A partnership agreement and a transfer plan are mandatory. The support organisation must:

• Organise follow-up of the transfer.
• Mobilise suitable advisers and experts, particularly on land and farm set-up matters.
• Provide for at least three technical sessions: project set-up, mid-term and end of project.
• Organise the transferor's mentoring and the transfer of knowledge useful for the takeover.
• Ensure administrative follow-up and, where necessary, contribute to legal steps with the notary.

The project's duration may not exceed three years and should not go beyond 31 December 2028, according to the operational guidance notice.

5. Eligible expenses

• Fees for advisers, consultants and land experts.
• Service provision and subcontracting.
• Feasibility studies directly related to a transfer planned at the end of the project.
• Time spent by the transferor and the support organisation, covered by a simplified cost option.

Staff costs and time devoted to the project may be covered by a flat rate of 20% of eligible direct expenses, subject to processing review. The applicant must explain the expenses covered by this flat rate and justify their necessity. This flat rate cannot in particular be applied when the cost base includes certain public procurement expenses beyond the regulatory thresholds.

Excluded expenses: general studies with no concrete link to a transfer, supplies and consumables, taxes relating to the 'octroi de mer'.

6. Amounts and aid rates

• FEADER 2023–2027 budget: €500,000.
• Maximum public aid rate: 100%.
• FEADER co-financing: 85% of eligible public expenditure.
• An advance of up to 50% is possible where an agreement is in place, subject to applicable rules.

The PSR V6 and the guidance notice consulted do not set an overall individual cap specific to this intervention. The actual amount depends on the eligible expenses, the financing plan and the conditions of the call for projects.

The 100% rate corresponds to the maximum public aid rate. FEADER co-finances 85% of eligible public expenditure: it does not finance the entire aid on its own.

7. Selection

Selection is carried out through calls for projects. The minimum threshold is 210 points out of 300, equivalent to 70/100 on the weighted scoring grid.

Criteria:

• Suitability of actions to identified needs: weighting 30.
• Suitability of human, material and financial resources: weighting 15.
• Quality of the partnership and formalisation of cooperation: weighting 10.
• Expected results for generational renewal and the release of agricultural land: weighting 45.

The most important criterion is the concrete impact of the transfer on the setting-up of a new farmer and the return of agricultural land to circulation.

8. Capital OS reading — matching

Positive signals:

• Transferor who has reached, or will reach, the legal retirement age by the end of the cooperation, in accordance with the PSR V6.
• Farm available for takeover.
• Identified candidate for farm set-up.
• Fallow or under-used agricultural land that could return to productive use.
• Involvement of a recognised support organisation.
• Need for mentoring, land expertise or preparation of the transfer.

Pre-qualification questions:

1. Will the transferor have reached the legal retirement age by the end of the cooperation at the latest, in accordance with the PSR V6? The "over 57 years" mention in the earlier operational guidance notice must not be applied as a stand-alone criterion without confirmation in the call in force.

2. Has a successor with a farm set-up project been identified?

3. Can the Chamber of Agriculture or SAFER act as lead partner?

4. Does the transfer plan include concrete actions and a timetable?

5. Is the transfer of land and know-how documented?

6. Can the project be completed within the intervention's deadlines?

Matching rule: this aid finances the cooperation and support for the transfer, not the purchase of the land itself. For the successor, farm set-up aid should be examined separately, in particular 75.01, if the criteria are met.

9. Official sources

• Official FEADER 77.04 page: https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/financement/feader-region-guadeloupe_renouvellement-generations-agriculture/
• Operational guidance notice 77.04 V1 (18 December 2025): https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Notice_77.04_IT16_0.0.0_V1_251218.pdf
• PSR FEADER Guadeloupe V6 (in force since 27 April 2026): https://www.europe-guadeloupe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PSR_FEADER_V6.pdf

10. Age criterion — operational rule

The PSR V6 is the strategic reference in force since 27 April 2026: the transferor must have reached, or be due to reach, the legal retirement age by the end of the cooperation. The "over 57 years" mention found in the operational guidance notice V1 linked to an earlier version of the PSR is not used as a stand-alone disqualifying criterion in matching. Check the next call for projects to confirm the applicable processing arrangements.