An estimated 16,000 farmers could lose out on an environmental scheme payment in 2023, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is warning.
It is urging the government to urgently address major issues relating to the new Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) to ensure that farmers who applied to the oversubscribed scheme are not left “significantly out of pocket”.
IFA’s rural development committee chair, Michael Biggins, told Agriland that farmers, particularly sheep and livestock farmers, “depend” on environmental scheme payments as a crucial source of revenue and cannot afford a “gap” year in payments.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) today (Monday, December 12) confirmed that a total 46,000 applications had been received under Tranche 1 of ACRES 2023.
ACRES places
But because Budget 2023 allocated funding for just 30,000 places under Tranche 1 of ACRES, the IFA is concerned that the shortfall between the number of places available and applications received could hit hardest on farmers who can least afford it.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine told the Dáil last week that farmers who miss out on Tranche 1 of ACRES will not get an opportunity to apply for the scheme in early 2023 as it is not scheduled to open until the “latter part of the year”.
But the IFA’s rural development committee chair said the government risks a “huge own goal” by excluding farmers who want to participate in an environmental scheme.
Biggins said the IFA had previously flagged to the DAFM that it expected around 60,000 farmers would want to participate in an environmental scheme in 2023.
“It makes no sense that the the government limited the funding for ACRES under Tranche 1 in the budget to 30,000 places and that there was only a total accommodation for 50,000 places in ACRES.
“The government knew the numbers game that was involved in the environmental schemes and they had money on budget day for everything else,” he said.
Biggins added: “There were 48,000 farmers in the Green Low Carbon Agri-Environment scheme (GLAS) originally and there were over 11,000 that had expressed an interest in joining the Results-Based Environment-Agri Pilot Project (REAP) scheme so that pushed the numbers interested in an environmental scheme right a away up to 60,000.
“A lot of farmers are disappointed that ACRES was described as a REAPS-type scheme in the Programme for Government.
“A lot of farmers thought that ACRES would be a more attractive scheme, but it is still vital for sectors that are under most pressure, it is a supplement to their income – they cannot afford not to get a payment.”
The IFA’s rural development committee chair said the organisation is concerned that Tranche 2 of ACRES could also be over-subscribed which would mean thousands more farmers could lose out on an environmental payment in 2023.
Upfront environmental payments
Biggins believes the best solution now is that the government commits to making an upfront ACRES payment in 2023 for successful Tranche 2 applicants.
“Farmers don’t care if they are in Tranche 1 or Trance 2 – all that matters is that they get a payment at the backend of 2023. They cannot afford a gap year, they’re low income sectors,” he said.