Agri climate scheme deadline is extended

THE Scottish Government has extended the application deadline for the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme to May 2.

The £ 350 million fund will be available between 2015 and 2020 to ‘promote land management practices which protect and enhance Scotland’s magnificent natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk and mitigate and adapt to climate change’.

Since launching, 1,675 applications have been approved, committing more than £101 million to rural businesses.

Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing said: ‘It is vital that we do all we can to mitigate the potential impact of the ongoing development of the CAP IT system.

‘ We are very focused on fixing all ongoing issues and are making progress at delivering new IT functionality to support future payment processes. I know that is what stakeholders and customers want, and that is what this government is striving hard to deliver.

‘ While there is still a lot of hard work required to achieve this, we also need the co- operation of stakeholders in keeping additional demands on the IT side to a minimum. My number one priority remains fixing the CAP payment issues and I am determined that the most farmers will receive the majority of their CAP entitlement in advance of the end of the payment period.’