Payments to farmers taking part in business development groups (BDG) will be issued over the next weeks.

Farmers will receive up to £490 for attending all eight meetings held in the 2016/17 year.

Attendance payments will only be made to group members that attended a minimum of six meetings over the 12-month period.

“There are just over 3,000 farmers in BDGs. Staff are verifying and validating annual claims and payments will commence in the next few weeks as planned,” a DAERA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal this week.

Payments of £600 are also made to BDG members who host an on-farm event. These payments have already been issued to host farmers throughout the financial year.

“Approximately 900 BDG members have received payments for hosting visits in 2016/17,” the DAERA spokesperson said.

Under current plans, payments for attending meetings are to continue for the current financial year and then are to be removed from April 2018. The payment for hosting a BDG event will remain for the five-year lifetime of the scheme.