The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D., today announced details in relation to the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme for 2019.
The ANC Scheme (previously referred to as the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and the Less Favoured Areas Scheme) has been a vital support for farmers in Ireland since the 1970s. In 2019, EU Regulations require that all Member States change their approach to designating townlands that are eligible for support under the Scheme. This new approach is based on identifying townlands that are considered to be constrained by reference to a range of bio physical criteria set out at EU level.
The Minister commented “The process of identifying eligible townlands under the new EU rules has been a protracted and complex process. I am aware of the importance of this Scheme to farmers across the country, and so I am today announcing details of this process in order to provide assurance to farmers ahead of the application process next year.”
For the vast majority of farmers, the townlands they farm which have been eligible up to now will remain eligible under the new Scheme. In total, c. 98% of currently eligible townlands will remain eligible under the new Scheme. In addition, over 2,000 townlands will now also have eligible land under the Scheme for the first time in 2019.
The Minister added “given the importance of the ANC scheme, I am now engaging in consultation with stakeholder groups in relation to finalising the design of the new ANC Scheme for 2019. In addition to the extra €25m provided for the Scheme in 2018, a further €23m will now be added to the Scheme in 2019 and the details of the allocation of this money will form part of discussions with stakeholder groups. The aim of this process is to ensure that a new Scheme is in place and clearly communicated to farmers in advance of the opening of the application process in 2019.”
The Minister also outlined that there will be an appeals process in place to deal with queries from farmers in the small number of townlands that are no longer eligible under the new Scheme in 2019. This appeals committee will be set up with an independent chairman, and will ensure clarity for all farmers affected by changes to the Scheme. The Minister confirmed that “my Department will be writing to relevant farmers shortly to outline the position with the ANC Scheme for 2019, and to provide details of the independent appeals process. It is important that farmers are clearly informed in relation to the 2019 ANC Scheme and that there is an independent process of appeal for farmers who wish to appeal the outcome of this process.”
For farmers who wish to confirm that the townlands in which they are farming are eligible for support under the 2019 Scheme, a full list of eligible townlands organised on a county basis is available here. A map showing the eligible areas for 2019 is also available on the website, along with a Question and Answers document for farmers.
The finalisation of the new Scheme (including increased payment rates in 2019) is now the subject of consultation with relevant stakeholders. Given that the Scheme is co-funded by the EU Commission as part of Ireland’s €4bn Rural Development Programme (RDP), 2014-2020, the 2019 Scheme must also now be agreed with the EU Commission as a formal amendment to our RDP. Following this process, details of the terms and conditions of the 2019 Scheme will be communicated to farmers in the usual way.
Notes for Editors
The Redesignation of the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme 2019
Background
Under the current Rural Development Regulation (and subsequent amendments under the Omnibus Regulation) Member States (MS) are required to change the approach to the designation of land under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (formerly Less Favoured Areas / Disadvantaged Areas Scheme). To date DAFM have been identifying eligible areas using a range of socio economic indicators such as FFI, population density, percentage of working population engaged in agriculture, stocking density etc.
In the current scheme, over 95,000 farmers receive total payments of €227m (an additional €25m for the 2018 scheme is included in this figure). This figure will increase to €250m in 2019 on foot of Budget 2019.
From 2019, eligible areas must instead be designated using the following list of bio-physical criteria:
Low temperature
Dryness
Excess soil moisture
Limited soil drainage
Unfavourable texture and stoniness
Shallow rooting depth
Poor chemical properties
Steep slope
The genesis of this new approach lies in discussions at EU level whereby concerns were raised by the European Court of Auditors as to the inconsistent approach taken across MS in relation to the designation of land using socio economic indicators.
Where MS choose not to implement the new approach, they can roll over the existing scheme. However, in such cases sharply degressive payment rates are required by EU Regulations which would significantly reduce payments across the board.
Work carried out to date
This has been a protracted and complex process, of a very technical nature. There has been significant engagement between DAFM, the EU Joint Research Committee and DG Agri on this process in the last 2-3 years. In effect, the process can be broken down into the following steps which, when taken together as one process, define the areas to be eligible under the new designation.
The identification of areas designated as constrained by reference to the biophysical criteria
The technical discussion on this element has been with the Joint Research Centre, and they have provided the sign off on this element of the work. While all the biophysical criteria listed have been mapped, the main criterion impacting in Ireland is excess soil moisture – essentially a prevalence of soils which retain high levels of rainfall with knock on effects for the farming of that land.
This work identified at townland level areas which display one or more of the listed biophysical criteria at a level above the 60%[1] threshold set out in the Regulation.
Fine tuning
In parallel to the identification of those areas identified in the biophysical process, the regulation also requires MS to fine tune out those areas where it can be clearly demonstrated they have overcome the biophysical constraint identified in the above process. After protracted discussion with DG Agri, the appropriate approach agreed with DG Agri is a tiered approach.
The fine tuning process has been carried out at District Electoral Division level. Essentially, the process identified the following 3 categories:
DEDs that displayed a stocking density over a 3 year average at level above 1.8 LU per hectare have been fine tuned out. The national average stocking Density is 1.45LU/Ha per DED.
DEDs that displayed an average level of above 15% of the agricultural area taken up by arable crops have been fine tuned out.
DEDs that displayed a combination of greater than 8% arable coverage and between 14. – 1.8 LU per hecate have been fine tuned out.
Identification of areas of specific constraints
The regulation also allows MS to identify areas where “it is necessary for land management to be continued in order to conserve or improve the environment, to maintain the countryside, to preserve the tourist potential of the area, or to protect the coastline.”
Up to 10% of the total land area of Ireland can be designated in this way as eligible under the Scheme. This is the approach taken in the current scheme to underpin the enhanced rates available for island farmers.
As with fine tuning, the approach taken here has been the subject of protracted discussion discussions with DG Agri. The approach taken has been to designate areas under the following 3 headings[2] as having specific constraints:
1. Areas of environmental importance
Under this heading, DEDs where 50% or more of the DED is covered by the Natura 2000 Directives lands and the National Heritage Areas are now eligible under the Scheme. This approach is clearly in line with the emphasis placed on environmental challenges in our RDP.
2. Structural Constraints – Fragmentation and Farm Size
Under this heading a DED is deemed to have a specific constraint where it meets the following two criteria
Where the land holding is in multiple blocks, ie fragmented.
Where the average farm size in a DED is less than 80% of the national average, i.e. less than 25.6 hectares.
Taken together, these two elements represent a constraint on farms where we wish to support the continuation of farming in line with the requirements of the EU regulation.
3. Structural Constraints – Grassland and Field Size
Under this heading, townlands were identified where more than 50% was in permanent grassland and there was an average field size of less than 4 hectares. Focusing on these areas helps to maintain the traditional ‘patchwork landscape’ as well as addressing the constraint identified in Commission guidance documents which state that “grassland used for agricultural purposes is mainly concentrated in regions with less fertile soils”.
In order to fully focus the support here on those specific areas within this category facing the most acute need for support, a further refinement was required. We have thus have identified a cohort of farmers where the average Family Farm Income (FFI) is less than 65% of the FFI of farmers who were not classified as disadvantaged / facing constraints in the current iteration of the Scheme. It is our view that these farmers are clearly a cohort where the constraint is most likely to lead to land abandonment etc. In focusing the structural constraint in this way, the scheme can be more targeted in avoiding land abandonment and the consequent knock on effects in terms of maintaining the patchwork landscape and preserving the environment.
The outcome of this process can be summarised as follows
The vast majority of land that was eligible under the existing Scheme will remain eligible under the new approach.
Some 700 townlands that would have previously been eligible are not eligible under the new designation. Farmers impacted financially by this change will receive a degressive phasing out payment in 2019 and 2020. In the majority of cases, the financial impact of this change is relatively small.
Over 2,000 townlands will now be eligible under the new approach and will be eligible to receive a payment for the first time in 2019.
The list of elgible townlands for 2019 is available, and can be viewed by farmers on www.agriculture.gov.ie. The attached map sets out a visual representation of these eligible.
Townlands no longer eligible in 2019
Some 700 townlands will no longer be eligible for the ANC scheme in 2019, having being eligible in 2018. These townlands are spread across the country. Where farmers hold land in these townlands and there is a negative financial impact, degressive phasing out payments will be in place for 2019 and 2020 as set out in the relevant EU regulations. A rate of 80% of the 2007-2013 rates will be payable in 2019, and a rate of 20% in 2020.
Approximately 750 farmers will be negatively impacted by this change. Leaving the phasing out payments aside, the financial impact will be under €1,000 for over half of the farmers impacted.
The allocation of an additional €23m to the ANC Scheme in 2019.
In Budget 2019, an additional €23m in funding was allocated to the ANC Scheme. This means that the total allocation for the Scheme has increased by €50m to €250m over the last two budgets.
Following on from the redesignation project, a proportion of the additional €23m allocated in Budget 2019 will be expended on payments to farmers who will now be eligible for the first time under the Scheme in 2019, and existing beneficiaries who are gaining new eligible land under the redesignation (including tillage land which is now required to be eligible for the first time). The remaining allocation is expected to be allocated via increase payment rates across the land categories in the Scheme.
Next Steps
Consultation with farm bodies
DAFM has put in place a series of meetings with farm bodies to
· update them on the current position with regards to the redesignation process
· Seek their views on the shape of the Scheme for 2019. It is not intended to change existing eligibility requirements in the Scheme (in particular the stocking rate requirement). However, views will be sought in relation to the level of categorisation of land within the Scheme, and the most targeted way of allocating the additional funds in 2019. Without pre-empting these discussions, DAFM would be in favour of continuing the current policy direction of targeting the highest level of funding at those areas experiencing the highest level of constraint/disadvantage.
Appeals Process
For the small number of farmers impacted by this change, an appeals process will be put in place. This process will be independently chaired, and details in this regard will be communicated directly to farmers shortly.
Communication with farmers
It is important that farmers are aware of any changes to the Scheme for 2019. For the vast majority of farmers, their current eligible lands will not change. DAFM will shortly be writing directly to relevant farmers to set out the required details. This will include details in relation to the above appeals process.
Amending Ireland’s Rural Development Programme (RDP), 2014-2020
The ANC Scheme is a key part of Ireland’s €4bn RDP, which is co-funded by the EU. Given the changes required in the Scheme for 2019, the RDP will have to be formally amended. Discussions with the EU Commission have commenced with a view to providing clarity to farmers in advance of the application period in February 2019.