Efforts by DAERA to get more farmers submitting Single Application Forms (SAF) online this year has seen 1,300 farmers make the move from paper to online forms so far this year.

The online SAF opened for applications at the beginning of March and closes on 15 May for payments to be made to farmers without penalties.

The drive by the department for online applications comes ahead of the EU requirement in 2018 that all SAFs must be completed online, where possible.

It is understood that there were around 9,800 paper claimants, meaning around 62% of all applications were made online last year.

DAERA has also urged farmers to make applications early and pointed out that the 3,300 applications received in March this year represented a threefold increase on last year.

Timeline

The timeline for the 2017 single application in NI is as follows:

  • 1 March: Window opened for receipt of SAFs and supporting evidence.
  • 2 May: Deadline for transfer of Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.
  • 15 May: Deadline for receipt of SAFs without penalty.
  • 16 May – 31 May: Applications can be amended to increase or decrease area without penalty.
  • 16 May – 9 June: Late applications receive 1% penalty for each working day.
  • 1 June – 9 June: Applications can be amended to increase area with 1% penalty for each day late.
  • 9 June: Deadline for applications or increasing area claimed. Area can still be reduced without penalty if DAERA has not notified the applicant of a penalty.

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