Press release
Minister McConalogue announces €14.3 million in support payments to the tillage sector
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D today announced the commencement of support payments worth €14.3 million to the tillage sector. The €14.3 million support package is comprised of €7.147 million secured for the tillage sector under the Agricultural Reserve fund in 2023, matched with a top-up of a further €7.147 million being made available from the once-off Ukraine related funding provided in Budget 2024.
Minister McConalogue commented:
“I am delighted to announce payments totalling €14.3 million in support of the tillage sector. Tillage growers experienced significant challenges in 2023 with high costs of production, reduced output prices and challenging weather conditions which affected crop yields. Wet weather also affected the harvesting of crops with growers not being able to harvest crops in many areas. In light of these challenges, I specifically requested support from the EU Agricultural Reserve for tillage growers and also approved a 100% top-up to the Agricultural Reserve allocation of €7.147 million in National funding which will provide critical support for this important sector”.
The €14.3 million funding is being used to support growers who were unable to harvest their cereal crops last year due to wet weather with the balance of the funding being used as a once-off flat rate payment on the area of oilseed rape, winter and spring barley, wheat, oats and rye declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) in 2023.
The Unharvested Crop Loss Support Scheme announced by the Minister in November 2023 will provide support of €1.67 million to 236 applicants who are eligible under the Scheme. The funding available for the one-off flat-rate payments is €12.63m and is being paid to over 8,400 growers on the area of oilseed rape, winter and spring barley, wheat, oats and rye declared under the BISS in 2023 subject to a maximum of 100ha per applicant. The rate of payment per hectare is €50 and the minimum area to be eligible for the flat-rate payment is 5ha.
Minister McConalogue concluded:
“The tillage sector is an important and integral component of the agri-food industry making a significant and valued contribution to the Irish economy. In line with commitments in Food Vision 2030 and the Climate Action Plan I want to see the sector grow and develop. That’s why I have strongly supported tillage farmers in recent years and the additional funding I provided in 2023 for the Protein Aid Scheme and the Straw Incorporation Measure along with the Tillage Incentive Scheme and this significant support package being announced today underlines my long-term commitment to this important sector”.
ENDS
Notes for the Editor
The Unharvested Crop Support Scheme was announced in November 2023 to support growers who were unable to harvest their cereal crops due to wet weather. The rate of payment to eligible applicants was €1,000 per hectare. There was a minimum eligible area of 2 hectares and a maximum eligible area of 20 hectares under the scheme.
The once-off flat-rate payment is payable to tillage farmers on the area of oilseed rape, winter and spring barley, wheat, oats and rye declared under their Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) applications in 2023. The rate of payment is €50/ha subject to a maximum of 100ha per applicant. The minimum area to be eligible for the flat-rate payment is 5ha.
These flat-rate payments and payments under the Unharvested Crop Support Scheme are being made under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1465 which provides for financial support from the EU Agricultural Reserve.