The number of farmers in the Burren participating in an agri-environmental climate measure is expected to increase by over 300% under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), according to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
While some 300 farmers are currently participating in the Burren Programme, it is proposed that an additional 1,000 farmers in the Burren region will participate in the ACRES Co-operation project (CP) measure.
The minister said he will engage with farmers in the programme this week to plan a meeting and discuss their concerns. He is also working closely with the CP team to develop a bonus structure to incentivise those farmers.
Speaking in the Seanad today (Tuesday, November 15), Minister McConalogue said the Burren Programme, which will conclude at the end of this year, has been a successful agri-environmental climate measure.
However, it was always the intention to scale up the positive aspects of locally led schemes and to mainstream them into a large-scale national agri-environment scheme, according to the minister.
“Under the current Burren Programme a total area of just over 11,000ha of species-rich grazed habitat is scored under the results-based assessment. In comparison to ACRES CP, it is estimated that almost 40,000ha will be scored in the Burren zone.
“This will provide a much larger environmental benefit and enable a greater number of farmers to contribute to public goods such as biodiversity and water quality,” he said.
The Burren is one of the CP zones, which are high-nature value holdings with significant carbon stores, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Burren Programme
The minister was responding to the issue raised by Senator Martin Conway, who said what has been achieved in the Burren in terms of environmental aspects could easily regress if the issue isn’t being dealt with.
“There is no doubt that the ACRES scheme has huge benefits. We are talking about a couple of hundred farmers that will be negatively impacted. In the overall scale of the financial commitment under ACRES it is very, very small.
“But for them it is down to Pounds, Schilling and Pence,” Senator Conway said.
Minister McConalogue said increasing farmer participation requires a balance to ensure an attractive payment rate is offered, and that as many farmers as possible join the new scheme.
He added that there will also be a substantial increase in environmental monitoring and assessment in the region.
Farmers in the Burren region were recently informed that programme manager Dr. Brendan Dunford, and Sharon Parr will step down from the ACRES Burren Aran CP.
“While there are some very positive elements to ACRES, there are particular issues of concern for some Burren farms and farmers which we feel we couldn’t, in good faith, stand over, and so we decided to step down,” Duford said.
Senator Conway questioned where the incentive is in the new €1.5 billion scheme considering the caps that are in place.
“We want to be in a situation where farmers can earn a living from their farm and at the same time protect the environment,” he said.
Dunford and his team in the Burren have proven over the years that earning a living and environmental protection go hand in hand if it is done properly, the senator said.