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Protein Aid Scheme
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Protein Aid Scheme is a payment to farmers for growing beans, peas, and lupins. These crops, which are nitogren-fixing, provide important environmental benefits. They are also a domestically-produced source of protein for animal feed.
You must be cultivating any or all of the following:
The protein crops clover, alfalfa and lucerne are not eligible for aid under the scheme. You must comply with the conditions of the scheme.
The rate for 2020 was set at €215 per hectare. The rate of aid payable varies each year.
In 2018 the European Commission introduced changes to the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 809/2014 that allowed Member States the option of using the Checks by Monitoring (CbM) in place of the current on-the-spot-controls. The introduction of Checks by Monitoring (CbM) for the Protein Aid Scheme in 2021 is the first step in the implementation of the Area Monitoring System (AMS) which will be compulsory in the CAP post 2020.
Checks by Monitoring is an automated and continuous process which will use Copernicus Sentinel Satellite data along with other data sources to determine the agricultural activity on all the declared land parcels under the Protein Aid Scheme in 2021.
The Checks by Monitoring process allows for the notification of Protein Aid Scheme applicants of a potential non-compliance with the scheme requirements in relation to crop type or activity. Where a potential non-compliance with the Protein Aid Scheme requirements is identified, a notification will issue on the BPS online system. If a farmer is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BPS account. Where a farmer has applied online through an advisor, the advisor will receive notification via the BPS online account in respect of any of his/her clients. Farmers who have applied through an advisor will also get a text message alert where they are signed up for this service.
The notification will provide an applicant the opportunity to amend their claim accordingly without penalty in light of the Checks by Monitoring notification. Farmers and advisors should check the correspondence section of their BPS online account promptly if a notification is received. A Geotagged photograph or other documents may be requested as part of the notification. The Department’s Geotagged Photograph application AgriSnap should be used to submit photos to support a claim. Documentation to support Protein Aid Scheme applications should be retained and made available on request to the Department. In the absence of any verifiable evidence the Department may need to confirm the conditions on the ground. The outcome of checks by monitoring may impact Protein Aid Scheme and other area-based schemes.
The Protein Aid Scheme & Checks by Monitoring Webinar held on June 29, 2021 can be found here :
Detailed information and guidance on Checks by Monitoring can be found here.
You apply for the Protein Aid Scheme as part of your Basic Payment Scheme application. Your Basic Payment Scheme application also serves as your application for the Protein Aid Scheme. To apply online, login or register at www.agfood.ie. You must apply by midnight on Wednesday 15 May 2020.
If your login or password are expired and need to be renewed please contact the Department’s helpdesk.
Alternatively, you can authorise an agricultural consultant or Teagasc advisor to apply on your behalf.
Read about the EU Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) here.
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