Payments to Northern Irish farmers under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) will commence on September 1, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has confirmed.
This means that farmers can expect to receive their share of this year’s total funding (£293,527,012) in less that four weeks’ time.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said this will be welcome news to many at a time when cashflow is “extremely tight”.
“We welcome the news that DAERA are working to release BPS payments to farmers across Northern Ireland in a matter of weeks,” UFU president David Brown said.
“Farmers have faced significant financial pressure this summer with the added complexity of the weather and the wettest July on record, which makes the BPS more important than ever.”
Brown urged DAERA to do all it can to “ensure the majority of farm businesses get paid during the first week of September as planned”.
“The BPS will be critical in helping to sustain farm businesses as they continue to produce high-quality food for consumers,” he said.
BPS payments were issued early to farmers in England on August 1, this year, to help with summer cashflow.
BPS
The BPS is the largest area-based scheme available to farmers in Northern Ireland. Farmers need to submit a Single Application every year to apply for the scheme, and be farming at least 3ha of land, and hold an equivalent number of BPS Entitlements.
I.e., if you are farming 10ha of eligible land you must hold at least 10 entitlements.
Entitlements can be inherited, leased or bought (transfer of entitlements), or applied for via the ‘Regional Reserve’.
