The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is set to open for applications in the next fortnight, although no concrete date has been set yet. “It is intended to open the BPS application system in mid-March,” a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal.
The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is set to open for applications in the next fortnight, although no concrete date has been set yet.
“It is intended to open the BPS application system in mid-March,” a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal.
This will be the last year in which farmers can apply for BPS using paper-based applications. Under EU regulations, 100% online application is required by 2018.
With 102,000 farmers applying online in 2016, this leaves a cohort of 30,700 farmers who have stuck with the paper-based to date.
Last year, the Department of Agriculture provided a series of measures to help farmers switch to online applications, including one-to-one assistance for farmers in its Portlaoise office, a dedicated telephone helpdesk open late and at weekends.
It is understood that similar supports will be available for farmers in the 2017 application period, when it opens.
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