There are no plans within DAERA to continue work on re-designating Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) in NI, a department spokesperson has confirmed.The current Less Favoured Areas (LFA) designation in NI has remained unchanged since 1984 with 448,000ha classified as Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) and 279,000ha designated as Disadvantaged Area (DA).
There are no plans within DAERA to continue work on re-designating Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) in NI, a department spokesperson has confirmed.
The current Less Favoured Areas (LFA) designation in NI has remained unchanged since 1984 with 448,000ha classified as Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) and 279,000ha designated as Disadvantaged Area (DA).
New mapping for disadvantaged areas based on updated natural constraint and economic activity information is part of an EU-wide requirement for ANC payments in 2018.
A consultation on the re-designating process in NI was launched by DAERA in February 2016. However, last December, the then Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen announced that work on re-designating would stop, as 2017 was to be the last year of the ANC scheme in NI.
The Ulster Farmers’ Union has previously called on DAERA to continue re-designation work so that up-to-date mapping of disadvantaged areas in NI is available to set parameters for future UK agricultural policy after Brexit.
“There are no plans to continue with the ANC re-designation process,” a DAERA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal this week.
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