The Tillage Incentive Scheme (TIS), which aims to increase tillage production in Ireland in order to reduce imports, will close for applications this week (Friday, July 7).
Applicants have just days left to submit an online application to qualify for the scheme as paper applications will not be accepted, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The budget for the 2023 TIS is €10 million and successful applicants to the scheme will then be eligible for the following payments:
- A support payment of €400/ha to tillage farmers who convert additional land to eligible tillage crops in 2023;
- A support to tillage farmers who continue to maintain the current tillage area converted under TIS 2022 through a maintenance payment of €200/ha.
In order to qualify for the €400/ha payment, the newly converted lands must be areas which were claimed as a grassland and non-tillage crop type on the 2022 Basic Payment Scheme application and are now claimed as an eligible tillage crop on their 2023 BISS application.
The scheme states that the level of financial support shall not exceed €250,000 per undertaking, with the minimum payment being €100.
Both rates are subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme, which can be found on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) website.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue opened the scheme on June 14.
Minister McConalogue said: “In 2022, the scheme delivered €10.1 million in support for the sector.
“It has proved to be successful and popular with farmers and it is acknowledged as having contributed to the estimated 6% increase in tillage area, or an additional 20,000ha in 2022.”
The Tillage Incentive Scheme is funded from a once-off 2023 National Exchequer allocation to DAFM provided to offset some of the negative impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on food and input prices and availability.