The Department of Agriculture 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.
It will be rolled out across the rest of the country on a phased basis.
A comprehensive communication campaign is currently being rolled out by the department to ensure that farmers, agents and farm bodies are informed of the changeover to the new system.
LPIS
The LPIS is the Department of Agriculture’s spatial database that underpins area-based payments to Irish farmers.
Introduced three years ago, the system holds records for land parcels over 1m in area, operating on a scale similar to Ordnance Survey maps at ratios of 1:5,000.