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Minister welcomes two important information guides for farmers and advisors
Minister for Agriculture, Food and The Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D today welcomed the publication of the new Guide to Land Eligibility and a new Explanatory Handbook for Conditionality Requirements.
Minister McConalogue said: “these two new guides will provide valuable and important information to farmers and advisors on the changes to the new CAP programme from now to 2027. The new CAP has brought with it a raft of changes regarding land eligibility which will be of benefit to farmers and it is important that we give as much guidance as possible to farmers regarding these changes.”
In relation to the Guide to Land Eligibility the Minister McConalogue said “the booklet is a practical guide to help farmers understand the rules on land eligibility for the various areas related EU schemes, such as the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme.”
The guide provides useful explanations, examples and images for relevant subjects like eligible agriculture areas and agricultural activities. Included are detailed examples of eligible and beneficial farm features and other features that are considered ineligible. The guide also includes a question and answers section and worked examples of the calculation of Eligible Hectare for a number of different land parcels.
In relation to Conditionality the Minister added “Conditionality replaces Cross Compliance under the new CAP and whilst many of the requirements remain the same, there are changes and we want farmers and their advisors to be fully aware of the changes.” He stated that “the Explanatory Handbook for Conditionality Requirements has been drafted to help farmers understand and comply with a set of mandatory requirements and baseline conditions referred to as Conditionality.” Conditionality comprises of 11 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and 9 Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) and beneficiaries of the CAP must comply with these conditionality requirements from 2023 onwards in order to be in full compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the BISS and other area-based schemes.
The Minister added “by complying with these Conditionality requirements, farmers are contributing to Ireland’s overall ambition to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, improve nutrient use and efficiency, reduce chemical nitrogen use, improve water and air quality, improve biodiversity levels and to safe food production and upholding strong animal welfare principles.”
In conclusion Minister McConalogue stated that “these guides are a further example of the communication being carried out by my department and farmers and other stakeholders to inform them of the changes to the new CAP.”
The documents are published on the DAFM Gov.ie website and found at the following links:
ENDS