My LANDE review: a 10.5% return on my €4,700
Investors on LANDE invest in agricultural loans and receive an annual return of 9 to 13% in return. These loans are backed by tangible collateral, which is intended to offer investors additional protection.
I have been investing on the platform for over three years, but I have since paused my investments. In this review, you’ll find out why I’ve started investing with LANDE again and which loans I’m focusing on.
My LANDE review also shows you the returns I’ve achieved to date and what the pros and cons of the platform are.
In brief:
- Lande is a P2P platform from Latvia where you can finance agricultural loans.
- The potential interest rates are among the highest in the entire industry.
- The loans are secured by tangible assets (farmland, agricultural machinery, buildings, etc.) which are sold in the event of default.
- The young company has delivered good results so far. My reviews of LANDE have also been positive.
- The presentation is not yet as professional as that of the competition.
My experience with LANDE: What you need to know about the platform
Since 2019, LANDE has been offering private investors the opportunity to invest in agricultural loans from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, with the potential to earn 9–13% returns per year.
LANDE is used to finance loans for agricultural businesses. As there are no buy-back guarantees or similar arrangements, the loans are backed by real collateral.
The collateral includes:
- Land
- Machinery
- Crops
- Livestock
The secondary market offers investors the opportunity to sell their loans before the end of the term or to purchase loans from other investors.
A look at the average figures shows that investors on LANDE invest around €5,234 per person, with a loan-to-value ratio of 43% and a term of 19 months. These figures can, of course, vary considerably for individual projects and investors; for example, there are individual loans offering interest rates of up to 13%!
Key information at a glance:
| Foundation: | 2017 |
| Head office: | Latvia |
| Management: | CEO Nikita Gončars (founder) |
| Loans financed: | €59 million |
| Regulated: | Platform is not regulated; parent company Wandoo is regulated |
| Annual Report: | Available, loss of €30,000 |
| Investors: | 10.600 |
| Return: | 11,2 % |
| Buy-back guarantee: | No |
| Minimum investment amount: | 50 EUR |
| Auto-Invest: | Yes |
| Secondary market: | Yes |
| Tax certificate: | Yes |
| Bonus: | 3% cashback via the Northern Finance sign-up link |
Investing in agricultural loans: the pros and cons
Different platforms for P2P lending offer different benefits to investors. LANDE offers the following particular advantages:
- A crisis-resistant sector: Over the decades, agriculture has proven to be particularly resilient. Even in times of economic crisis, inflation or geopolitical tensions, demand for food has remained stable.
- EU subsidies: The agricultural sector receives long-term support within the European Union. This support contributes to the economic stability of many farms and has a stabilising effect on their financing.
- High level of collateralisation: Agricultural loans are often secured by tangible assets such as land, machinery or crop yields. This means the risk profile differs significantly from unsecured financing.
- Attractive returns: In the agricultural financing market, investors achieve average returns of around 11.2% per year, with interest typically paid out monthly.
- Licensing: LANDE is licensed as a “European Crowdfunding Service Provider”, which means many processes are standardised, thereby ensuring investor protection.
Although, in my opinion, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages, there are a few drawbacks that need to be mentioned here:
- Platform risks: As with all P2P platforms, there is a risk that the platform itself may encounter operational or financial difficulties. This can lead to difficulties with repayments.
- Regional concentration: The geographical focus is currently on the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. In the event of economic or political crises in this region, several loans could be affected at once.
- No buyback guarantee: Unlike other P2P platforms, LANDE does not offer a traditional buyback. In the event of loan defaults, investors are reliant on real collateral, which can lead to longer waiting times, amongst other things.
- Cash drag: Once you have selected a loan, you must wait until it is fully funded. In my experience, this can take some time. During this phase, you do not yet receive any interest, meaning your capital remains unused and your return decreases slightly.
How does investing in LANDE’s agricultural loans work?
Farmers use LANDE to obtain financing for new machinery, seeds, operating supplies or as protection against crop failures. This enables farms to grow, adopt modern technologies and stabilise their production in the long term.
Before a project is published on the platform, every funding request undergoes a comprehensive due diligence process. This involves analysing, among other things, creditworthiness, financial figures, harvest history, the market environment and potential EU subsidies.
Good to know:
Only around 5% of all applications meet the strict requirements and are approved for investors.
All loans are secured by tangible assets such as machinery, land, livestock or future crop yields. This is often supplemented by personal guarantees from the borrowers.
The conservative loan-to-value ratio of around 40–60% further ensures a balanced risk profile.
Once the project has been successfully vetted, it is published on LANDE along with all relevant information. Investors receive transparent details regarding:
- Loan amount
- Interest rate
- Term
- Collateral
- Loan-to-value ratio
Investments can be made from €50, either manually or automatically via the Auto-Invest feature.
Throughout the entire term, LANDE actively monitors repayments and interest payments. Should any issues nevertheless arise, a professional debt collection and collateral management process is activated.
This allows investors to benefit from attractive
Why agricultural financing allows for higher interest rates
In certain situations, agricultural businesses require capital that is available at short notice – for example, in the event of faulty harvesting machinery, short-term operating expenses or the purchase of new land.
Traditional bank financing often reaches its limits in such cases, as decision-making and disbursement processes can take several weeks or even months.
This is precisely where specialised financing models, such as those offered by LANDE, come into play. Drawing on the company’s many years of experience, tailor-made loan products have been developed that are specifically designed for the unique needs of agricultural businesses.
These include, amongst other things, financing secured by EU subsidies, which enables farmers to access portions of future funding in advance.
Government support programmes also play a role: in many cases, investments are subsidised by up to 80%, but require pre-financing – a classic bottleneck for many farms.
Practical example: Why fast financing is crucial for farmers
For farmers, the speed and reliability of such financing are often crucial. A crop failure, unused land or delayed investments can cause financial losses that are significantly higher than the cost of short-term financing.
A typical real-world example: During the harvest season, a key piece of machinery breaks down. Without a quick repair, there is a risk of losing a large portion of the harvest. €20,000 is needed at short notice, but traditional banking processes would take weeks. Through LANDE, the financing can be provided within a few days.
Agricultural land worth €60,000 serves as collateral, for example, which corresponds to a conservative loan-to-value ratio of around 33%. The financing runs for 12 months, and investors receive a return of around 11% with monthly payments.
Against this backdrop, many businesses are willing to pay higher interest rates for flexible and quickly available loans. This, in turn, forms the basis for attractive, predictable returns for investors.
Why I’m investing in LANDE again after a break
I was critical of LANDE for some time. After a few mixed experiences, I had therefore paused my investment for a while – but I have now resumed it.
Like probably every investor, I am also a big fan of generating passive income.
Whilst some investors rely on dividend ETFs, emerging markets ETFs or the so-called share pension as a state-subsidised retirement strategy, I also invest via platforms such as Mintos, Monefit, Debitum and Bondora – and have been doing so on LANDE for several years.
Unfortunately, my portfolio has repeatedly experienced loan defaults and repayment issues in the past.
My LANDE portfolio currently looks like this:
Total loans invested: 74
More than 60 days overdue: 5
In arrears: 9
On closer inspection of the overdue loans, I noticed that the majority of them originated in Romania and were secured against machinery.
Among them was a borrower who had already filed for bankruptcy in 2024. However, the court proceedings have been repeatedly postponed, which is why no money has yet been returned to investors.
Exclusive: Latest figures on loan defaults
Northern Finance has obtained exclusive access to LANDE’s figures. These reveal:
- In 2023, around 456,000 of just under €1.5 million in machinery-secured loans defaulted – that is 30.5%, or almost one in three loans!
- In 2024, the default rate for this category fell to 8.0%
- In 2025, there was a further decline to just 5.6%
Although this is already significantly better, for me personally it is still too high to invest in machinery-secured loans. The situation is similar for loans secured by livestock and land, which is why I currently will not be investing in Romanian loans at all.
Especially as I’ve had much better experiences in other areas: what I find most exciting are the land-backed loans from Lithuania! Given the very positive signs, I’ve adjusted my strategy and will now be investing exclusively in this area.
| Default rates on land-secured loans from Lithuania | Total outstanding amount in the event of default / more than 90 days past due | Total amount | Failure rate |
| 2022 | – | 11.200 | 0,0 % |
| 2023 | 15.899 | 537.010 | 3,0 % |
| 2024 | 34.232 | 1.129.344 | 3,0 % |
| 2025 | – | 2.101.322 | 0,0 % |
| 2026 | – | 707.304 | 0,0 % |
| Total | 50.132 | 4.486.180 | 1,1% |
The figures for land-secured loans from Latvia also look very good. The default rate here is also very low at 1.5%, which is why I am focusing on land-secured loans in Latvia as well.
Loans secured against machinery currently have a default rate of 5.2%. Loans secured against livestock and crops currently have default rates of 10.2% and 5.0% respectively, which, based on my experience to date, is clearly too high for me.
However, LANDE is no longer issuing these loans. This shows that the platform is keen to offer its investors the most attractive loans.
My investment strategy at LANDE
Based on my positive experience with this loan category, I will in future invest exclusively in land-secured loans.
I have adjusted my Auto-Invest settings accordingly: I invest €100 in each land-secured loan from Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, accepting all repayment types.
The annual interest rate I have set is at least 10.0%. The loans can run for up to 3 years with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 60%.
Good to know:
With Auto-Invest, you can choose between a “basic” and an “advanced” option. The basic Auto-Invest invests in absolutely everything available on the platform. I recommend using the advanced Auto-Invest, as this allows you to set your own criteria for loans of €100 or more.
I would also advise you to always base your investment decisions on data. Based on the information provided exclusively to Northern Finance by LANDE, I have adjusted my Auto-Invest settings. I will be keeping a close eye on how my portfolio performs under this new strategy and will share my experiences with you again.
How to use the secondary market effectively
In addition to the primary market, investors on LANDE can also use the secondary market. Here, loans can be bought and sold early on – and without any fees. I have also gained some experience here and invested in a few projects.
But here’s the catch: Loans can only be bought or sold free of charge if they have not yet defaulted. In the event of a delay, this also
In addition, investors have the flexibility to purchase loans from other investors either in full or only in part. This can be particularly relevant in the case of attractive loans involving very large sums. The desired amount can be selected with complete flexibility, down to the last euro.
Many investors have had bad experiences with machine-backed loans, particularly those from Romania, in recent months. It is therefore hardly surprising that this particular asset class is frequently being offered for sale. However, LANDE’s secondary market is very extensive, so you can also find many other investments.
My experience with LANDE: How I’m currently achieving a 10.5% return
I currently have €4,692 invested on LANDE, the majority of which is in loans – €200 is currently reserved for new projects.
So far, my investment has yielded a profit of €1,481, consisting primarily of interest and, to a small extent (€7.22), a bonus that is sometimes offered for investments made.
In total, I have already invested in over 200 loans. 65 of these are currently still active. The majority – 51 loans – are performing on schedule. Some are in arrears and 9 loans have defaulted.
For investors, the relevant repayment schedule is also important for every investment. This shows when repayments are due and how much they will be. On the one hand, this provides planning certainty; on the other, it confirms whether the loan is a reliable one.
I have been investing with LANDE since 2022 and have achieved an average return of 8.90% since then. Last year, I managed to increase this to 10.1% and this year my return is as high as 10.5%, which I am very happy with!
Having withdrawn some money from the platform in 2025 based on my experience, I am now starting to steadily increase my investment again.
Sign up and claim your bonus
Would you like to start investing in agricultural loans on LANDE? Then open your account today in just a few simple steps.
With my exclusive Northern Finance link, you’ll also receive an attractive bonus when you sign up.
Who LANDE is suitable for
Agricultural loans as fixed-income investments appeal primarily to investors who prioritise regular income and wish to invest their capital outside the stock market. The model is particularly interesting for investors who:
- prefer monthly distributions over capital gains
- want to expand their portfolio with an alternative asset class
- place value on real economic fundamentals
- wish to use predictable returns as a complement to shares and ETFs
Particularly as a supplement, such an approach can help to combine cash flow and diversification in a targeted manner.
Community experiences with LANDE: Critical but open
The experiences my community has had with LANDE so far have varied, ranging from positive to critical.
Users have had similar experiences to mine: some report that they were affected by default rates of around 30% and in some cases had to wait several years for their money.
At the same time, however, it is emphasised that the platform has since become significantly more robust, meaning that defaults are also decreasing.
A user has had a similar experience with LANDE regarding the type of collateral and confirms that Land currently appears to offer the best security.
Overall, the community appears to be critical, yet open-minded. It seems that the majority are keeping a close eye on developments at LANDE and remain open to the platform.
Conclusion: Why I’m currently investing in LANDE again
My experience with LANDE has been positive after more than three years of investing – provided you find the right strategy!
With a current return of 10.5% in my portfolio, LANDE demonstrates the potential that lies in agricultural loans. Investors can decouple themselves from the stock market, make a positive contribution to agriculture, and earn a good return in the process.
After a short break, I’m now investing again. This time, however, exclusively in loans secured by land, as the default rate is lowest here. And because I really want to invest passively, I’m using Auto-Invest – one of the most important features, so I don’t have to manually filter out every loan.
LANDE is fee-free, regulated and offers great flexibility through the secondary market, whilst returns can be both lucrative and stable. Anyone willing to invest a little time to set up their own Auto-Invest strategy will find LANDE a very exciting addition to their portfolio.
If you’d like to read more about P2P lending, take a look at our latest P2P lending ranking. For the next review, feel free to check out my ING-Diba review.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions about LANDE
