Bord Bia plans to spend €6m per year in 2017 and 2018 on beef, lamb and quality assurance schemes.

This is up from the €5.4m paid to Agridata and SWS (now called Capita Customer Solutions) for quality assurance audits last year, according to an Irish Farmers Journal analysis of purchase orders published by Bord Bia.

Bord Bia has awarded a new contract to the two same companies to continue providing farm audits under quality assurance schemes.

Administration costs will cost up to €1m per year, while a new FRS helpdesk will cost up to €250,000/year.

The number of farms to be audited every year under the new contract is 35,000, up from 32,000 when the previous contract was awarded four years ago.

The contract places an upper limit of €40m on combined payments under all contracts, ie €8m per year over their maximum five-year duration.

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