Facilities for accepting Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Greening applications are open as of today (Wednesday, February 20), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed.

Last week some farmers have received letters from the Department of Agriculture with maps and pre-printed lists of their entitlements.

This caused some confusion among farmers who then tried to submit applications only to find that such submissions were not accepted.

A spokesperson for the department told AgriLand that the letters are going out on a phased basis, with letters issued last week, this week and next week to inform farmers of the option to apply for BPS payments.

Last week the department confirmed that it is updating its mapping and imagery systems for EU-funded schemes such as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and other Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) initiatives.

Confirming the move, a department spokesperson said that the update is being done to “take account of best available technologies and to keep to the standard required for the delivery” of such schemes.

This new version of the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) will allow “the new mapping to give a more accurate reflection of the land parcel boundaries that are used in department schemes”, the representative added.