Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir has today (Monday, September 2) announced the commencement of direct payments to Northern Ireland farmers.
The minister said that almost £260 million is being issued on the initial day of payments.
He said that payments will continue to be released following successful validation checks for “the small number of remaining applications”.
“I am delighted to announce £258.4million of direct payments have issued to 23,254 farmers, representing 98% of eligible applicants, on the first day of 2024 payments.
“I am committed to ensuring both the environmental and economic sustainability of Northern Ireland’s significant agriculture sector, and my department continues to deliver for hard working farming families.
“These payments represent a significant boost to those families and to rural communities,” Minister Muir said.
DAERA
DAERA said that the 2024 total ceiling for direct payments has been confirmed as £293,527,012, which is equivalent to the ceiling for 2023.
This figure is used to calculate Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) entitlement values, the Young Farmer Payment, the Protein Crop Scheme and the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme for the 2024 scheme year.
From today, payments totalling £260,000 will also issue to farmers who applied for the Protein Crops Scheme.
Beef Carbon Reduction payments for the 2024 scheme year will issue separately, in March 2025.
DAERA has reminded farm businesses to ensure prompt payment they should check that both their contact, and bank details are up to date.
It added that notification of payment details will be made through the DAERA messaging service.
The department added that it will prompt farm businesses, by issuing an email to the scheme applicant, when a new message is available to view.
Paper letters will issue to farm businesses where an agent submitted the application.
To access DAERA messaging for current and future communications, all farm business members must register for a DAERA Online Account by registering first for NI Direct, which can be completed on the DAERA website.
Farmers who need help with registration can contact DAERA by calling 0300 200 7840.
