The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that clarity is urgently needed for farmers in co-operation project (CP) areas under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
The chair of the association’s National Hill Farming Committee, Caillin Conneely has called on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to “come clean” with farmers on land parcel scoring and Non-Productive Investment (NPI) applications.
He also urged the department to ensure balancing ACRES payments are issued to all farmers “as soon as possible”.
“Farmers in co-operation areas were sold a pup with ACRES. We were promised up to €10,500 each year for the five years of the scheme, but we got nothing at all in year one, and even now, haven’t a clue how much, or when we will get paid this year.
“We are in the dark completely on how our lands scored and where we stand with our NPI applications. It’s just not acceptable. Farmers can’t continually be at a loss because the Department haven’t their ducks in a row,” he said.
In February, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced an interim payment for ACRES tranche 1 participants who had not yet received their advance payments.
The first interim payment run of €4,000 for ACRES General participants and €5,000 for ACRES CP participants was paid at the end of that month.
ACRES
The IFA Hill Farming chair said that applications for NPIs closed in early December 2023, “but it’s been radio silence ever since”.
“We are hearing it could be late summer now before any NPI approvals start to issue, to allow farmers start the work, nevermind get paid for it.
“We need a complete rethink here. I’m calling on the minister to ensure innovative solutions are found and whatever resources necessary is provided to speed up this process, and to allow farmers start works and get paid in good time.
“The NPI gave farmers a chance to build up payments where scoring may not have been as high as anticipated, but again we haven’t a clue where we stand here either. We have no idea how our parcels scored,” Conneely said.
DAFM has reminded farmers in ACRES tranche 1 who are seeking to rescore their land this year to select this option through their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme application.
“What I do might be very different if I know my land scored a 7 versus what I think scored a 7 but actually only scored a 2 or 3 on the department end.
“I simply need to know where I stand before I can make any kind of informed decision. Farmers need and deserve better clarity. We are shooting in the dark otherwise,” Conneely said.
“This year already has been very challenging on hill farmers, with huge extra expense.
“Cashflow pressures are building on many farms. We need clarity and certainty where we stand so we can plan going forward,” he said.