Payments totalling £8.96 million have commenced issuing to Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) agreement holders in Northern Ireland.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has said that over 90% of claims made in 2022 were paid today (Monday, April 17).
The remaining claims will be processed and payments issued as soon as possible following validations, it added.
EFS payments and claims
The EFS is a five-year agreement that supports farmers and land managers to carry out a range of environmental measures.
EFS claims must be made on the annual Single Application during each of the five years of the agreement.
Participants must also confirm the work that has been completed as part of the agreement at the end of the first year of participation.
EFS participants must submit a claim each year on their Single Application and the claims window for EFS 2023 opened on April 6.
However, some agreements are being updated to reflect changes that agreement holders have told the department about or after inspections, but DAERA has said that all EFS agreement holders will be able to claim by April 28.
Online training for EFS agreement holder whose agreements started on January 1, which is compulsory, is now available. This must be completed by November 30, 2023.
The department is also reminding submitting a year 1 claim are reminded that a compulsory Claim Confirmation will be required in December this year.