Creed unveils new National Reserve fund

€5m scheme will prioritise young farmers and new entrants

A NATIONAL Reserve Scheme for 2017 with a fund of €5m will be launched today by the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed.

The scheme is being funded by a linear cut to the value of all Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.

However, the Department of Agriculture said that the €5m reserve scheme budget is equivalent to the amount of unspent funds under the Young Farmers Scheme in 2015 which were added to the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling.

Priority for the reserve will be given to ‘Young Farmers’ and ‘New Entrants to Farming’.

Successful applicants receive an allocation of entitlements at the national average value of entitlements for the Basic Payment Scheme, or a top-up to that level where the applicant is below the average. The national average under the Basic Payment Scheme is approximately €185/ha.

Given that the National Reserve is capped at €5m, the scheme should fund full and top-up payments on over 30,000ha. It is anticipated that over 500 farmers will apply for the scheme.

Minister Creed said the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme will also be available to provide an additional payment to any person who qualifies as a ‘young farmer’.

Progress

“The 2015 National Reserve proved to be a huge success in facilitating the entry of over 6,000 young, well-educated persons into the farming community,” Minister Creed said.

“The National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme, together with the value of associated Greening payments, provided for an allocation of Pillar 1 payments in excess of €52m in 2015. The 2017 National Reserve will build on this progress in helping to provide a solid basis for the future of the agriculture industry in Ireland,” he added.

The National Reserve online application form, together with full terms and conditions, will be available when the scheme opens for applications in March 2017.

The closing date for receipt of applications under the scheme will be May 15, 2017.

Macra na Feirme leader Seán Finan “warmly welcomed” the reopening of the scheme.“This is a positive signal from the Government on the value it places on the development of young farmers and their futures,” he said.

“The reopening of the National Reserve is something that Macra na Feirme has actively campaigned on, for an extended period of time,” Mr Finan said.

“Macra na Feirme has always been very clear that we have to move away from the stopstart nature of young farmer schemes, and this announcement is a very positive development in that regard for young farmers,” he added.

To qualify as a ‘young farmer’, an applicant must meet the following conditions:

• S/he is participating in the Basic Payment Scheme in the year s/he submits an application;

• S/he is no more than 40 years of age during the calendar year in which s/he submits an application under the Basic Payment Scheme;

• S/he is setting up an agricultural holding for the first time or has set up such a holding during the five years preceding the first submission of the Basic Payment Scheme application.

To qualify as a ‘New Entrant to Farming’ applicants must:

• Be participating in the Basic Payment Scheme in the year s/he submits an application;

• Have commenced the present agricultural activity in the 2015 calendar year or any later year;

• Not have any agricultural activity in his/her own name and at his/her own risk in the five years preceding the start of the present agricultural activity;

• Submit an application for the Basic Payment Scheme not later than two years after the calendar year in which s/he completed the agricultural activity.

Successful candidates will be required to meet an appropriate agricultural education qualification standard.