Serious questions over ACRES scheme - ICMSA

SERIOUS questions remain over the effectiveness of the new agri-environment scheme ACRES and the benefits for farmers.

ICMSA deputy president Denis Drennan has advised farmers to carefully consider the scheme before applying as it is far from straightforward.

Speaking after a meeting with senior officials of the Department of Agriculture about the scheme, among the key concerns, Mr. Drennan said, is the administrative and cost burden that is being placed on farmers before they enter the scheme and, in particular, a farmer having to employ a consultant to draw up a plan and still you may not be accepted into the scheme. This is hugely problematic and the department need to relook at this aspect of the scheme.

In terms of the number of participants, with 50,000 in GLAS and 5,000 in REAP and with both schemes ending at the end of this year, there is going to be 5,000 existing agri-environment participants with no access to an agri-environment scheme in 2023 and other farmers wishing to join an agri-environment scheme will find it extremely difficult to do so. It is on this basis that the ICMSA is calling for the participation level to be brought up to 65,000 farmers.

In terms of the conditions of the scheme, Mr. Drennan said the department are making it extremely difficult for family dairy farms and full-time family farms to qualify for the scheme and in the context of the environmental pressures being imposed on farmers, this is hugely regrettable and is a matter that the minister needs to address.

Farmers who are farming land reasonably intensively have been effectively excluded from the scheme and if the department want to achieve an environmental dividend, providing an incentive to these farmers should be a priority and the current policy of exclusion needs to stop, said Mr. Drennan.