The Department of Agriculture is inviting submissions, observations and comments regarding the current range of on-farm investments supported under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023 to 2027 Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).

The call for evidence was announced on Tuesday by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly.

The Department is also seeking the public’s opinion on potential new innovative investments which could be considered in the future to support the transition to more sustainable systems of production.

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At the launch, Minister Heydon highlighted the success of the current TAMS 3 CAP on-farm investment scheme.

“It is very important as we move towards a new CAP cycle that we gather evidence and learnings from stakeholders from the current scheme, while also bringing a focus to new innovations at farm level,” he stated.

“We will also need to prioritise those investments which give the biggest return in terms of economic, environmental and social sustainability.”

Submissions

When making submissions, stakeholders should include material which supports investment in infrastructures related to the development, modernisation or adaptation to climate change of agriculture and land use, energy and water, installation of digital technologies in agriculture, precision farming, with a particular emphasis in areas such as farm safety, animal welfare and nutrient management.

Minister Heydon emphasised: “It is a key priority for me that farm families continue to be supported to develop their farm businesses sustainably for the future.

“Capital investment on farm plays a critical role in this regard. I would urge all stakeholders to provide feedback to this call for evidence, as it will provide vital input to support the analysis on future investment priorities.”

The call for evidence will be open from 15 September to 5pm Friday 30 October.

All submissions are required to be sent by email to the Department of Agriculture to TAMSInvestments@agriculture.gov.ie.