Payments under the Knowledge Transfer (KT) programme commenced in late October 2017. To date, approximately €11m has issued to over 15,300 farmers and further pay runs are ongoing.

Department officials are currently examining partnership cases involved in KT.

This is “to ensure that all requirements of the programme have been completed in full and that the scheme requirements are fully verified for individual farmers within partnerships.”

“Every effort is being made to complete this process with a view to paying affected farmers as soon as possible,” Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said in response to a parliamentary question from Niamh Smyth.

Knowledge Transfer (KT) is one of a suite of measures included under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and involves the formation of knowledge transfer groups across the beef, dairy, equine, sheep, tillage and poultry sectors.

Participants attend group meetings and produce a farm improvement plan in consultation with their KT facilitator. For each year of the three-year programme, participants receive a payment of €750 for a primary sector and €375 for a secondary sector where all requirements of the programme have been met.

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