The French department of agriculture published its draft ANC map at the end of February and will now enter discussions with the European Commission to have it accepted. Ireland is due to follow the same steps shortly.

France and Ireland are in similar situations, with three main categories ranging from mountain areas to more severely and less severely handicapped lowlands. Ireland also has a specific island category. Both countries face an obligation to redraw these eligibility maps under new criteria set by the European Union to ensure that biophysical conditions decide which farmers receive ANC payments.

Irish farming organisations have urged the Government to protect existing eligibility while adjusting the scheme for new criteria, and French farmers staged disruptive protests across the country in recent weeks after it emerged that some would lose their ANC payments.

Here is what we can learn from the French experience:

  • It has been, and will continue to be, a long and difficult process. French president Emmanuel Macron said that his administration had revised the map 115 times to date – and that's before entering formal discussion with Brussels on the published draft map.
  • Some areas are set to lose eligibility and others will be allowed in. In France, 16,120 townlands are currently eligible to ANC. Some 1,380 were removed from the new map, and 4,900 were added. According to the French Government, the number of farmers eligible to the scheme is set to rise by 13% – however this is no consolation to those who will lose their payments.
  • France is pushing the idea of "geographical continuity". This would allow isolated townlands that are ineligible because of their strict natural conditions, but surrounded by eligible land, to retain access to the scheme in the interest of fairness with their immediate neighbours.

    "The European Commission has recognised the principle of geographical continuity and this has allowed us to improve the outcome in recent weeks," President Macron said. While it remains to be seen whether its detailed implementation on the map will get the green light from Brussels, this idea could inspire Ireland.

  • Farmers will benefit from a transition period. "From 1 January 2019, a two-year transition will be designed with you to smooth out the impact," President Macron told farmers. Changes don't have to become effective in one fell swoop next year.
  • Other forms of support can target farmers who lose their ANC eligibility. President Macron acknowledged that some ineligible areas had been designated over the years because their main local farming industry was uncompetitive. He has pledged Government support for investment in those less efficient sectors, especially meat processing. He also said that those who lose ANC should get priority support for on-farm renewable energy development such as solar and biogas.
  • Some losses may not be negotiable. When French farmers blockaded motorways for days, they usually get what they want. But the French Government has been unable to find a way around the European Commission's new criteria to maintain eligibility for all 95,000 existing ANC farmers.

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