Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has announced that her Department has commenced the issue of payments under the 2014 Less Favoured Areas Compensatory Allowances Scheme (LFACA).
The LFACA scheme recognises the particular difficulties experienced by those farming in less favoured areas and contributes to: ensuring continued agricultural land use and thereby contributing to the maintenance of viable rural society; maintaining the countryside; and maintaining and promoting sustainable farming systems which in particular take account of environmental protection requirements.
The Minister said: “I am particularly pleased to see that these payments, worth some £25million, are issuing on target, given the significant challenges encountered this year. I expect that by the end of March over 90% of LFACA payments will have been issued by my Department.”
Subject to bank clearance farmers should start to see these payments arriving in their nominated bank accounts from the second or third week of March.
Image: Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill