This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Single Farm Payment Scheme
31/01/2005
New arrangements come into effect today which will
provide support for farmers disadvantaged by changes in
agricultural support.
Producers will now be able to apply to categories
covering investments, leased land, purchase of leased land,
re-conversion of production and new entrants.
The arrangements allow them to apply for support under
the new system introduced by reform of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The closing date for these categories will be March 14.
Applications for two further categories (dairy farmers and
hardship and transfer of leased land) will remain open
until May 16.
Farmers in certain circumstances declaring less land in
2005 than they held in the reference period will be able to
apply for the consolidation of their Single Farm Payment
(SFP) entitlements - part of the National Reserve
arrangements - using their 2005 IACS form which SEERAD will
issue in March 2005.
SEERAD is issuing an information leaflet and an
application form to all farmers who are already receiving
information on the SFP. The documentation will also be
available to download from the SEERAD website or from local
area offices.
The SFPS is part of the CAP Reform arrangements that
were announced in February 2004. The scheme features:
- Decoupling support from
production i.e. subsidy farmers receive will no longer
be linked to the level of production
- Payments will be based on subsidy
receipts during the reference period 2000-2002. This
is referred to as the historic approach and is the
standard system envisaged in the European
legislation
There are no automatic issue of National Reserve
entitlements - producers will have to submit an application
and meet strict criteria. It is designed to assist farmers
and crofters who would be otherwise disadvantaged over the
change from traditional subsidy scheme to the new decoupled
arrangements.
The Reserve will be established from a percentage
reduction in payments to farmers receiving their
entitlements under the SFP. The exact percentage will not
be known until nearer the final closing date because it
will be set to meet the level of successful
applications.