There is only one week left to submit an application to the 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme, which will close next Monday (May 29).

Farmers must submit their BISS application by Monday midnight, which is also the closing date for the transfer of entitlements.

Applications for BISS and other area-based payments must be made using the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) online facility (agfood.ie).

Under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) has been replaced by the BISS.

The scheme is designed to provide a direct income support to Irish farmers to underpin their continued sustainability and viability, the DAFM said.

BISS

Under the new scheme farmers will be paid per hectare of eligible land farmed and for which they hold entitlements; this is called an “eligible hectare”.

The maximum rate that farmers could be paid per hectare is determined by the value of the entitlements they have.

The maximum payment that will be granted to any one farmer under the scheme, in any one year, is capped at an effective rate of €66,000.

No payment will be made under the scheme where the amount is less than €100.

To receive a support under BISS, eligible applicants must:

  • Have an eligible hectare to accompany each payment entitlement. One eligible hectare of land declared equals one BISS payment entitlement;
  • Be a holder of a registered herd number or have applied for a herd number on or before May 29, 2023;
  • Be an active farmer: The person claiming payments on the land must be the person farming and/or managing the land, that is, the active farmer;
  • Submit a 2023 BISS application declaring their land located within the jurisdiction of Ireland and apply for BISS;
  • Meet the minimum requirements to receive a direct payment as per EU regulation.

Following the closing date, farmers can amend their application without incurring a penalty until June 14, 2023.

The DAFM said that an advance payment under the BISS may be made in October, with balancing payments commencing in December.

Farmers may also apply through the BISS application for the following schemes:

  • Eco-Scheme;
  • Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS);
  • Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers Scheme (CIS-YF);
  • Protein Aid;
  • Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC);
  • Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM);
  • Agri-climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) – annual claim if already approved;
  • Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) – annual claim if already approved into the scheme.
BISS DAFM SCHEMES