More than 12,391 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications have been lodged with the Department of Agriculture so far.

The vast majority, some 10,945 applications, were made via the online system, while the remaining 1,446 applications were made using the traditional, and soon to be extinct, paper-based form.

Next year, online BPS application will be compulsory.

There is a big push to increase the number of online applications in 2017, with the Department of Agriculture planning a series of walk-in clinics nationwide to help farmers convert to online.