Members of Stormont’s Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, were briefed on the “fairer and more proportionate” penalty system developed under the new Sustainable Agriculture Programme (SAP).
The new programme, due to come into effect in 2026, replaces the current Farm Support and Development Programme, and was developed in response to a public consultation on future agricultural policy proposals for Northern Ireland, which took place in December 2021.
The programme’s redesign was managed by a number of stakeholders, including:
- Director of Area Based Schemes Division, Dr. Jason Foy;
- Head of Controls and Assurance Developments, Aidan McAvoy;
- Divisional Veterinary Officer, Dr. Elvara McAleese;
- Head of Natural Environment Operations at The Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Mark Hammond.
According to the programme’s authors, the new penalty system is “simpler” in form in comparison to its predecessor and functions solely on the basis of whether a breach has been committed.
It will also include a few new additions, including a guidance letter and mandatory training courses.
In a bid to make penalties more proportionate to the extent of the breaches waged, a fifth level of severity will be introduced to make it easier to differentiate between them.
Head of the area-based schemes division with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Dr. Jason Foy explained: “The proposed penalty matrix is simpler. We have removed the complexity of the current regime by discarding factors such as permanence on farm and the intentional stroke negligence factor.
“The matrix operates purely on the breach. More severe breaches will attract higher penalties and there is more proportion in the levels of severity for first time breaches.
“We have introduced the guidance letter, a maltreatment mandatory training course component to the penalty, as we wish to prevent further breaches and help farmers avoid them occurring in the first place,” he said.
According to Foy, the proposals raised in the public consultation, dating back to December 2021, informed the basis of SAP.
One such proposal was to phase out the current statutory management requirements mandated under the cross compliance regime and replace it with a new and simplified system of farm sustainability standards.
Another proposal was to embed proportionality and responsiveness within SAP’s penalty system, with a greater emphasis placed on compliance without recourse to penalty.
Criticism of the current regime has ranged from dissatisfaction with its inherent complexities and the overseverity of its penalties, while others are concerned it is ineffective with penalties not being severe enough.
Penalty changes
Foy elaborated further on the rationale behind the policy changes: “The policy seeks to support, enable and help farmers comply with the standards, rather than seeing financial penalty as the first and only responsibility.
“In developing the policy, we have returned to first principles. Farmers in receipt of public subsidy should observe a set of minimum standards.
“These standards should be as straightforward as possible to understand and comply with. Our rule of thumb has been that a farmer taking reasonable care should have little difficulty in meeting the standards. There will be much greater emphasis on knowledge, guidance and information for farmers in the new regime.”
The new system will encourage compliance and recognises that the “vast majority of farmers already do,” Foy added.
He admitted that while there is a place for financial punishments within the new system, it will primarily aim to change farmers’ behaviour, revolving around deterrence and support, instead of punishment tactics.
However, punitive action will not ruled be ruled out under the new system, and will be implemented, should the breach be severe enough to warrant prosecution.
Foy continued: “Our emphasis again on guidance and support for farmers, which we want to try and change culture around this, would be the provision of advice and information to farmers to avoid those situations occurring.
“So if it’s late cattle registration and there’s a delay in post, for example, there are alternatives open to farm businesses to avoid that entirely by registering their cattle online or using our telephone service, which negates reliance on post, for example, for cattle registration work.”
According to Foy, various stakeholders were consulted during the drafting of SAP, including the Ulster Farmers Union, the British Veterinary association and a range of environmental groups, including including Northern Ireland Environment Link, who reportedly supported the revisions.
