A new app has been developed to make it easier for farmers and advisers to geo tag their photos in order to comply with some schemes as part of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Schemes already in place using geo tagged photos include the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) and the Protein Aid Scheme. ACRES will also use geo tagged photos which show the location and land parcel of a field.

As part of the SIM, farmers are advised to take photos of straw being chopped and incorporated and to show the date and location in the photo details.

The new app for your mobile device is described as a precision photo app which allows farmers to send land parcel pictures and information to the grants payment body to validate payments. This can be done in seconds the developers claim.

AgriSnap was designed in conjunction with farmers, agricultural advisers and department staff and was developed at Waterford’s Walton Institute in South East Technological University (SETU). The app developers partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Teagasc on the project.

Stephen Carberry of the Department of Agriculture stated: "In 2021 DAFM rolled out the app for usage on the REAP scheme and the Protein Aid Scheme as part of Checks by Monitoring. This resulted in the submission of over 50,000 photos by farmers and advisors.

"Following its success, the app was subsequently rolled out this year on two additional schemes, the Straw Incorporation Measure and the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). To date over 100,000 photos have been submitted via AgriSnap and the feedback received from users has been very positive and has led to further improvements in the user experience of the app," he added.