An agreement between farm organisations and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the new Farmers’ Charter is edging closer, Agriland understands.
The Farmers’ Charter is a set of guidelines outlining how the department interacts with farmers on a number of issues, including scheme payments and farm inspections.
Negotiations on a new charter, to coincide with the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), have been ongoing for over a year, and now it appears that a final agreement could be secured within a month, it is understood.
Speaking after a meeting between farm organisation representatives and department officials to outline the final details of the charter, the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) Connacht regional chairperson said that progress was being made, but there were some issues that remained to be ironed out.
Brendan Golden said: “Progress has been made on a number of issues over the last number of months. Farm payments will return to their traditional payment schedule for 2024, with ANC (Areas of Natural Constraint) Scheme [payments] reverting to the third week of September.”
When, in early 2023, the department announced that some scheme payments would occur later than usual for that year, the IFA responded by ceasing their attendance at the Farmers’ Charter meetings for much of the year.
The department said updating its computer systems to cater for new schemes under the current CAP was the cause of the delays.
Golden said: “The department must assess and review the capabilities of its IT (information technology) infrastructure prior to scheme roll-out, to avoid subsequent payment or processing delays.
The IFA representative called for the department to make provisions for an alternative payment when agreed payment dates are not met.
Golden also said that the new charter will include improvements around inspection notifications, and will retain the written preliminary inspection report issued on the day of the inspection, rather than in the subsequent days, which the department had been proposing.
He also said that inspections will be, in the main, announced.
However, according to Golden, the department has other outstanding issues to resolve “in order to ensure fairness and equity for farmers”.
“We cannot have a situation where the department revises or changes the terms and conditions following the opening of the scheme, which leaves applicants negatively impacted by the change. This is a basic principle that must be included in the charter.
“Engagement with farm organisations prior to any amendments or revisions is the minimum commitment required in the charter,” Golden added.
Other issues that have been raised for inclusion in the new charter include timeframes for department responses to reviews and appeals, recognition of pregnancy status of cows at inspection, and monitoring the implementation of the charter itself.
“The charter, when finalised, must have a meaningful and positive impact for farmers across the delivery of direct payments, farm schemes and department services. It is vital to secure a new charter that is fit for purpose and serves farmers well in a practical and real way over the next number of years in their interaction with the department,” Golden said.