EBRD lends €30 million for precision agriculture in Baltic states

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a €30 million sustainability-linked loan to help Scandagra Group roll out precision agriculture technologies across the Baltic states, according to an EBRD. The Swedish agribusiness trader and commodities supplier works with over 6,000 farmers in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The money will fund precision farming tech across 150,000 hectares of farmland, including Dataväxt digital tools and monitoring systems for green activities. This marks Scandagra’s first sustainability-linked loan, with incentives tied to hitting environmental targets. The loan gets backing from an EU InvestEU guarantee that helped set up ambitious green performance indicators.

Agriculture accounts for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and drives biodiversity loss across the world. Baltic farmers, like many others, often overuse fertilizers and pesticides because they lack precise data about soil conditions and crop needs. This wastes money and harms the environment through water pollution and unnecessary emissions.

The precision agriculture technologies should help farmers use fertilizers and pesticides more efficiently by giving them better data about exactly what their crops need and when. The digital tools will monitor and verify green farming practices while helping farmers track their environmental impact. These changes should cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 14,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually while improving crop yields and reducing input costs for farmers.

Scandagra is jointly owned by Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen and Danish cooperative Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab. The company serves as a key supplier and trader for thousands of small and medium-sized farms across the three Baltic countries.

EBRD has put €4.43 billion into the Baltic states so far, making it a major institutional investor in the region’s development and green transition efforts.