Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has today (Thursday, July 21) advised that notifications for Checks by Monitoring (CbM) under the 2022 Protein Aid Scheme and the Straw Incorporation Measure are now issuing.
Further notifications are also expected to issue in the coming months.
The Protein Aid Scheme is a payment to farmers for growing beans, peas, and lupins. These crops, which are nitogren-fixing, provide important environmental benefits and are also a domestically-produced source of protein for animal feed.
The Straw Incorporation Measure is a payment for chopping straw and incorporating it into the soil.
Checks by Monitoring
Checks by Monitoring is an automated and continuous process which uses satellite and other data sources to check the agricultural activity on all land parcels declared by farmers under the Protein Aid Scheme and the Straw Incorporation Measure in 2022.
It replaces the old system of on-farm inspections. The process will allow for the notification to applicants of a potential problem in relation to crop type or activity within the land parcels declared by the farmer.
Where such a potential problem is found, a notification will issue on the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) online system. If a farmer is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them to check for a notification on their BPS account.
Geotagged photographs or other documents may be requested as part of the notification. In certain cases, it may be necessary to verify the position on the ground by means of a farm visit.
To facilitate the implementation of the Area Monitoring System (AMS), which will be compulsory in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) period, a phased introduction is being implemented by Ireland for various schemes over the interim period.
The first phase in 2021 saw the Protein Aid Scheme coming under Checks by Monitoring. This second phase in 2022 will include the Straw Incorporation Measure.
The minister said: “The introduction of Checks by Monitoring is a positive move towards the simplification of the CAP.
“Checks by Monitoring offers many benefits to farmers including allowing farmers the opportunity to amend their payment claim without penalty where a potential non-compliance is identified.”
Privacy
However the system has faced some criticism since it was initially announced.
Previously the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) described the level of monitoring that will be employed this year for the Protein Aid Scheme and other schemes in future years, as “grossly intrusive and disquieting”.
President of ICMSA, Pat McCormack previously stated: “I’m a little irritated by the idea that because this is, in a sense, public monies being disbursed through various farm schemes, that the participating farmers are expected to waive all their rights to normal privacy.”