Article 8
1. Incentives to farmers whose applications have been accepted and whose development plans have been approved shall include the following measures: (a) the allocation, by way of priority, of land released under the Council Directive of 17 April 1972; (b) the granting of aids in the form of interest rate subsidies in respect of the investments necessary for carrying out the development plan, but excluding expenditure incurred in buying: - land; - pigs, poultry, or calves intended for slaughter. With regard to the purchase of livestock, only the initial purchase provided for by the development plan may be taken into account; (c) the provision of guarantees for loans contracted and the interest thereon, where the security or personal guarantee provided is insufficient. 2. The interest rate subsidy provided for in paragraph 1 (b) shall apply to the whole of the loan, except for any part of the loan exceeding 40 000 units of account per man-work unit. It shall not exceed 5 % and, in principle, shall cover a period of fifteen years, which Member States may, however, extend to twenty years for investments in immovable property and reduce to ten years for other investments. The rate of interest remaining payable by the beneficiary may not be lower than 3 %. Member States may grant this aid, in whole or in part, in the form of a capital subsidy or of deferred repayments ; or they may combine the two forms. However, the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission and voting as provided in Article 43 (2) of the Treaty, may authorize a Member State, for a specified period: - to grant interest rate subsidies exceeding 5 %, if such action is warranted by the situation of the capital market in that Member State; - to lower the minimum rate payable by the beneficiary to 2 % in certain regions.