All rules that NI farmers must follow to be eligible for farm support payments are to be reviewed by DAERA.

Speaking to MLAs at Stormont, DAERA deputy secretary Norman Fulton said all requirements under both cross-compliance and land eligibility will be re-examined.

“We will begin a review on the scope of cross-compliance, making sure that it actually is relevant for NI and can deliver policy objectives,” he said.

Cross-compliance rules cover everything from slurry spreading to cattle identification to managing hedgerows.

Land eligibility requirements will remain the same for 2021

“We will also look at the penalty regime to make sure that it is more proportionate compared with the current approach,” he added.

Rules on land eligibility, which are used to decide if land is suitable for claiming area-based payments on, were also discussed.

“Land eligibility requirements will remain the same for 2021, but again we will look at that and currently a project is examining if there are changes that need to be made in subsequent years,” Fulton said.

Inspections

In 2021, the proportion of Basic Payment Scheme applicants who are inspected for land eligibility inspections is to remain at 1%. It was previously 5%, but inspections were scaled back this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Looking at long-term domestic agricultural policy, Fulton confirmed that there will be a gradual transition from the current Basic Payment Scheme to new farm support schemes.