Farmers in NI are becoming “less interested” in support payments due to the growing number of conditions attached to schemes, the chair of Stormont’s agriculture committee has said.During a briefing with DAERA officials last week, Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler said there is “a growing mood” where farmers want to move away from claiming payments.
Farmers in NI are becoming “less interested” in support payments due to the growing number of conditions attached to schemes, the chair of Stormont’s agriculture committee has said.
During a briefing with DAERA officials last week, Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler said there is “a growing mood” where farmers want to move away from claiming payments.
“For the first time ever, I am hearing farmers saying to me that they are less interested in engaging in the Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP),” he said.
A key issue is that payment rates under the area-based FSP are reducing, but the list of conditions required to claim the payment is growing.
Butler said department officials and politicians need to work together to ensure farmers are engaged “positively” about the new payment regime.
“It is an important moment that we are in. We need to work collaboratively on this,” he said.
DAERA officials were told that a contributing factor towards the disinterest in the FSP was the controversial proposals recently published under the draft Nutrients Action Programme (NAP).
However, Mark Hammond from the department pointed out that the current NAP consultation includes questions about how penalties will apply to farms that are not claiming FSP.
“The NAP legislation applies to all agricultural businesses whether they are claiming payments or not,” he said.
The main set of rules
At last week’s meeting in Stormont, MLAs were told that the maining set of rules that farmers will need to comply with from 2026 onwards will be finalised next month.
The new rules, known as Farm Sustainability Standards, are effectively the follow on to Cross Compliance rules which were a requirement for claiming the old Basic Payment Scheme.
“The standards are simpler than Cross Compliance, with unnecessary requirements having been stripped out.
“They will be responsive to change in response to evidence and there will be opportunity to review their operation and adjust them accordingly,” said Anna Campbell from DAERA.
SHARING OPTIONS