There will be a net increase in land classified as Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) when the new maps are released in the coming weeks, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.

A small amount of good land in the west will be de-classified as ANC but overall more areas will be in than out. In the budget, €250m was allocated to ANC for 2019. Additional land in the scheme is not expected to have a major impact on the overall budget as most new areas are less severely handicapped. Payments are skewed to favour more disadvantaged areas such as hills. It appears payments for each classification of land type will not vary much from the current system. It also seems there will be no change to the minimum stocking rate requirements.

IFA rural development chair Joe Brady said Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed must protect areas currently classified, and ensure the 2019 payment rates relate to the natural handicap, with higher payments going to the most marginal land.

If you currently receive an ANC payment but your land is not classified as ANC in the new maps, you will receive 80% of the value of your payment in 2019 and 20% in 2020, it is understood. At the moment, tillage land does not qualify for ANC payments but it will in the future if it is classified as ANC. The Irish Farmers Journal also understands an appeals system will be put in place.

The new criteria will replace what was deemed out of date by the European Court of Auditors some years ago. They include wetness of soil, slopes, stoniness, soil texture and other limiting natural handicaps to agricultural production. There are currently four classifications of ANC – offshore islands, mountain-type grazing, more severely handicapped and less severely handicapped.

Payments

As it stands, 75% of the country is classified as ANC. More than 95,000 low-income farmers benefit on land which has been deemed to be suffering from a natural handicap or disadvantage. To date this year, 86,547 farmers have received €209.3m worth of 2018 ANC payments.

“The payments of ANC along with other direct payments supports such as BPS and GLAS represent a significant proportion of overall farm income in the areas that are classified as ANC,” Brady said. “The Minister must ensure this situation does not change. In the forthcoming CAP 2020 talks, IFA will be seeking a further increase in the ANC allocation to bring it to €300m per annum.”

This week the European Commission warned Ireland it will be referred to the European Court of Justice if it does not reply within two months to its concerns around delays to re-mapping and setting conservation objectives.

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