A lot of farmers have recently received letters from DAERA informing them that they should go online to complete their 2017 Single Application Form. Indeed, the general direction of travel seems to be that all future correspondence between a farmer and DAERA will be by modern communication methods (eg email).My wife will be delighted about this as she is always complaining about the amount of stuff that comes through the post. She, like me, never knows what to throw out and what to keep.
A lot of farmers have recently received letters from DAERA informing them that they should go online to complete their 2017 Single Application Form. Indeed, the general direction of travel seems to be that all future correspondence between a farmer and DAERA will be by modern communication methods (eg email).
My wife will be delighted about this as she is always complaining about the amount of stuff that comes through the post. She, like me, never knows what to throw out and what to keep.
I would have to say that I welcome this move online with open arms and I think it has the potential to reap great rewards for both the farmer and the Department.
In particular, the potential to speed up the processing of data should mean quicker payments to farmers. Also, with forms and communication coming in online, there is less DAERA staff time wasted compiling information. Perhaps then, DAERA might be able to allocate more time to actually helping farmers in other areas.
Forty years ago, we had no telephone and if we wanted to ring for an AI call, we had to go to our neighbour’s house. Now everyone in our house has a mobile phone as well as the land line.
Ten or 15 years ago, a computer would have been a rarity but now everyone in our house has a laptop, iPad or smartphone.
Then you have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and all the other ways of communicating. Some would say that things are moving too fast but I believe we must embrace all of this technology.
More than that, I think that we should use this technology to further our farming business. There is so much information out there that if we don’t make use of it we will be left behind.
Pictures
I was recently the victim of some storm damage. I took some pictures on my phone and put them on Facebook and within seconds my cousin in Australia had seen them. Not that long ago, I would have had to get the camera out and take the pictures and then get them developed. After all that, I would then have had to post them to Australia. He probably would have seen them in three weeks.
Certainly, the potential for information technology looks limitless.
Having said all that, I can understand that it is very difficult for some people to get a grasp of it all.
It is something Department staff must recognise as well – and maybe not just the staff, but also the rule-makers.
For a start, the broadband in a lot of rural areas is just rubbish and this needs to be addressed before making any online applications compulsory.
Also, policymakers should be sympathetic if the farmer makes mistakes. Of course, if the Department staff make a mistake it’s ok, but if the farmer makes a mistake he or she is penalised.
Deliberate mistakes or fraud should be punished but accidental mistakes should not.
I’m sure the answer to this for many farmers will be to go to a form-filler and get it done professionally. This is fine, but it’s more money and stress for the farmer.
While we should all try to embrace technology, make sure you bring everyone, willingly, with you.
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