A second tranche for the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will open in mid-October with no changes to the terms and conditions, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The IFA said that these details had been confirmed to it by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
In developing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan, the department envisaged 50,000 participants for the ACRES programme, split into to two tranches.
The department planned for 30,000 farmers to apply in tranche 1, which closed earlier in the year, and 20,000 in tranche 2. However, tranche 1 saw some 46,000 applications, overshooting by 16,000 the envisaged application numbers for that tranche.
Despite this, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue confirmed in March that all valid applications made in tranche 1 would be accpeted.
Farmers who did not apply in tranche 1 will now have the opportunity to do so come mid-October.
Speaking this afternoon (Tuesday, September 12), Michael Biggins, the IFA’s Rural Development Committee chairperson, said: “Getting ACRES tranche 2 opened for applications as soon possible was a key priority for the IFA and something we have continually pushed for.
“It’s vital that government devote adequate resources so anybody looking to get into tranche 2 is accommodated. We need to learn from the lessons of the past. There is considerable demand among farmers to get into tranche 2.
“Farmers are fully committed to improving the environmental and economic sustainability of their farming enterprises. 97% of BISS [Basic Income Support for Sustainability] applicants have committed to [the] eco-scheme, and the National Liming Programme and tranche 1 of ACRES were hugely oversubscribed,” Biggins added.
He called on the government to “tap into this momentum” and to devote necessary funding to “deliver for the farm, the economy, and the environment”.
Biggins called for greater clarity in terms of requirements on farmers.
“We can’t have a situation again of rules changing mid-stream like we had with…catch crops, impacting on farm operations and potentially payments received.
“It’s completely unfair and creates huge uncertainty and stress on farmers trying to run a family business. It needs to be avoided and this year, at a minimum, [the department] need to apply maximum flexibilities and ensure full payments are received on time,” Biggins added.