The Irish Beef and Lamb Association (IBLA) has raised concerns about the timeline for farmers to apply for the new agri-environmental scheme.
The €1.5 billion Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is due to replace the Green, Low-Carbon Agri Environmental Scheme (GLAS) when the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) begins next year.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that the targeted number of participants in the scheme is 50,000.
In a letter to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, IBLA said that it is concerned about the department’s understanding of “what proper and workable timeline is required for farmers to access ACRES”.
National IBLA chair, Gerard Pilkington explained that some members who attended ACRES advisor training believe the timeframe to submit applications is “inadequate”.
“Advisors learned at the recent ACRES training events that applications, which also includes the preparation of a farm sustainability plan – a fundamental part of the ACRES application – must be submitted before the end of November 2022.
“This is certainly not workable for all stakeholders involved in the programme, particularly the applicant,” he wrote.
Pilkington claimed that the timeline will be a “steep learning curve” for advisors who do not have experience of results-based projects, while established advisors will be unable to give a proper professional service to farmers within four months.
“The technical and practical contents of the ACRES scheme have been well designed and can certainly deliver for farmers, give value back to the Irish taxpayer, greatly improve the circular economy and ultimately the exchequer.
“However, the administration and rushed design of the ACRES scheme structure is unacceptable, where the priority seems to be, to fit in a structure similar to what was there in GLAS,” the IBLA national chair continued.
“The GLAS application process was also very rushed, leading to the submission of many poor-quality applications.
“It appears that DAFM administration has learned very little from the GLAS application process and ACRES applications will be twice as rushed, with all applicants having to have a farm sustainability plan prepared also.
“ACRES will not deliver any environmental benefits if the application process is hurried and if many interested farmers will not have an opportunity of submitting an application on time, or at all,” he warned.
Pilkington called on the department to go back to the drawing board and review the current structure of the scheme.
He said that ACRES should be immediately opened to all farmers with a simplified expression of interest format which would be followed by a “ranking and selection process” by DAFM.
IBLA has requested a meeting with Minister Charlie McConalogue and his officials to further discuss the concerns it has raised.