Farm organisations will meet with Department of Agriculture officials this Thursday to discuss the shape of the new €250m ANC scheme.

Categorisation of land and payment rates have yet to be decided. Department officials and some farm organisations have indicated that they would be in favour of the current policy, which targets the highest level of funding at the most disadvantaged areas.

An additional €23m was allocated to the scheme in Budget 2019, as a result it is expected that payment rates will increase.

The payment rates in place for off shore island farming under the ANC scheme will not be impacted by this process.

Getting to this stage has taken a number of years. Parallel to the mapping of biophysical criteria, a process of fine-tuning took place which removed areas that have overcome the constraint on the land. For example, places that had high stocking densities or are tillage areas have been removed.

Meanwhile, areas of specific constraints were put in to the scheme, these included Natura 200 lands, Natural Heritage areas and farms with structural constraints, such as fragmentation, farm size and field size.

European approval

ANC is part of the €4bn rural Development Programme which is co-funded by the EU, meaning that changes will have to be formally approved in Brussels. Discussions with the European Commission have commenced, with the aim being to have them completed by the time applications open in February.

The IFA’s county chairs, rural development representatives and hill committee will meet in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise, on Thursday night to discuss the redesignation of areas.

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