There were 483 appeals made to the Agriculture Appeals Office in 2024.

The office released its annual report which showed there was a 22.6% reduction on 2023, down 141 appeals from 624 the previous year.

Compared to 2023, there were 26 fewer Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) appeals in 2024 and 11 fewer relating to Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC).

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However, the report said a major factor in the reduction of appeals was the improvements made to Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Basic Payment Scheme applications, resulting in 51 fewer appeals last year.

Online facilities

“While many factors may account for this decrease, acknowledgement must be given to the BISS application system which allows for early identification of errors in online applications and provides for a grace period for the correction of such errors.”

A total of 335 oral hearings were held throughout the year, of which 309 were held in person. There were also 26 hearings held remotely which is a 160% increase on 2023.

In addition, there were 137 appeals submitted using the office’s online facilities, which were first introduced in 2023. Last year’s figure was a 204% increase compared to the pilot year.