Inspections for this year’s Protein Aid Scheme will be undertaken remotely by satellite, through the use of the area monitoring system (AMS), Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced.

It is the first time inspections will be carried out remotely in the scheme.

The satellite inspections will allow for the notification of Protein Aid Scheme applicants of a potential non-compliance with the scheme requirements in relation to crop type or activity.

Where such a potential non-compliance is identified, a notification will issue on the BPS online system. If a farmer is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BPS account.

Adviser

Where a farmer has applied online through an adviser, the adviser will receive notification via the BPS online account in respect of any of his/her clients. Farmers who have applied through an adviser will also get a text message alert where they are signed up for this service.

Geo-tagged photographs or other documents may be requested as part of the notification. In certain cases it may be necessary to verify the position on the ground by means of a farm visit.

Satellite data

Checks by monitoring is an automated and continuous process which will use satellite data along with other data sources to determine the agricultural activity on all land parcels declared by farmers under the Protein Aid Scheme in 2021.

To facilitate the implementation of the system, which will be compulsory in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2020, a phased introduction is being implemented by Ireland for various schemes over the interim period.

The first phase will see satellite inspections being used for the Protein Aid Scheme in 2021.

Minister McConalogue said: “The introduction of these new checks by monitoring in 2021 is a positive move towards the simplification of the CAP through the use of technology and in turn offers many benefits to farmers.

“These include reduced number of on-farm inspections and quicker notification when problems arise, allowing farmers the opportunity to amend their payment claim without penalty, where queries arise.

“The new notification system aims to minimise the occurrence of non-compliance,” he said.

Reduced on-farm inspections

The switch to the eye in the sky monitoring will reduce the number of on-farm inspections and will result in quicker notification when problems or queries arise, the Department has said.

Farmers will be able to respond to queries by sending in geo-tagged photographs where appropriate and they will have the opportunity to amend their payment claim without penalty

On-the-spot inspections

In 2018, the European Commission introduced changes to the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 that allowed member states the option of using checks by monitoring (satellite inspections) in place of the current on-the-spot-controls.

The satellite inspections will allow for the notification of Protein Aid Scheme applicants of a potential non-compliance with the scheme requirements in relation to crop type or activity.