Close to 18,000 CAP scheme payments totalling £154m have been issued to farmers in NI today (1 December) by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

Making the announcement agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill said that the payments issued today would reach farmers’ bank accounts by this Friday (4 December).

Targets of paying 95% of eligible applicants by the end of December and paying all eligible applicants that were inspected by the end of March have been set by the minister.

Minister O’Neill said: “This year has also been challenging for farmers and DARD with the introduction of a new set of schemes. I am happy that despite the complications and additional work this has brought.”

Basic payments, greening payments and successful applicants to the young farmers top up will be paid from today. In total this will equate to around £236m when all payments are completed.

The minister noted that the increased number of applicants applying online this year has helped DARD process applications and get timely payments to farmers.

“I hope that more farmers will recognise the benefits of applying online and help us to further improve on payment performance in the future,” she said.