Over 30% of farmers have already applied for their 2016 Basic Payment, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture.
It says so far in 2016 over 41,000 applications have been received – 36,104 of which were submitted on-line.
This compares to 2015 where over the same period, 40,000 Basic Payment applications had been received – 31,393 of which were on-line.
In 2015, some 93,000 farmers applied online and the Department of Agriculture is hoping to significantly increase that number this year given the range of benefits which online applications provide for farmers.
Deadline
The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney confirmed that the closing date for the BPS in 2016 would be Monday, May 16 but urged all farmers and advisors to avail of the opening of the online facility now rather than waiting until closer to the closing date.
Online
Following on from the roll-out in 2015 of online application to farmers who have a requirement under Greening, or are in partnerships, or are in the Organic Farming Scheme, in 2016 GLAS farmers will move to online BPS application.
Greater use of the online application system will allow the Department to deliver a range of benefits to farmers in terms of the accuracy and efficiency with which BPS applications are processed.
In particular, built-in validations on the system will help to ensure consistency between GLAS and BPS applications for farmers.
Assistance is available to all farmers using the online application system via www.agfood.ie and the dedicated Helpdesk at 076 1064424.