Some €10m in payments have started to issue to almost 3,000 farmers under year one of Results Based Environment Agri Pilot Programme (REAP), Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced.

Payments will continue on a regular basis for the remaining farmers, as REAP currently has 3,740 active farmers.

Introduced in 2021, the Minister said that REAP is an innovative and farmer-friendly programme which brings greater environmental and biodiversity value to how we farm.

Commenting on the announcement, the Minister said: "To be taking it from concept right through design and implementation, now payment, is great credit to farmers, my Department and farm advisers, for working collaboratively.

"Almost 32,000ha is under the scheme and systems are in place to support REAP farmers and their advisers to deliver for our environment. This is part of our collective efforts to realign Irish agriculture in support of our greater climate and biodiversity objectives.

"I look forward to the continued success of REAP into 2022.”

Pilot

The two-year programme was launched earlier this year to trial an agri-environment results-based scoring and payment system on farms across the country.

The project is testing the upscaling potential of the model for use in the next agri-environment scheme to follow on from GLAS.

REAP will also help to identify the training needs of Irish farmers and advisers to ensure maximum participation in future agri-environmental schemes.

Achievements

Environmental assessment and scoring of almost 32,000ha has been carried out using a combination of the low input grassland and multi-species ley scorecards.

Over 400 farm advisers have been trained, along with REAP farmers in the results-based approach.

In conjunction with their adviser, REAP participants may undertake environmental improvement works to increase the environmental value of their land, with the aim of improving their score in year two.

REAP participants can also avail of financial support for the planting of trees, hedges and hedge gapping where these actions are likely to improve environmental and biodiversity quality.