The coronavirus support package for NI agriculture will be topped up with an additional £3.6m.The initial £25m budget came from the Department of Finance. Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots then asked officials to review budgets within his department to see if additional funds could be available.
The coronavirus support package for NI agriculture will be topped up with an additional £3.6m.
The initial £25m budget came from the Department of Finance. Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots then asked officials to review budgets within his department to see if additional funds could be available.
A document sent to Stormont’s agriculture committee last week confirms that an additional £3.6m has been identified.
Payments of up to €7,000 can be made to individual farms
Meanwhile, the European Commission confirmed on Wednesday that unspent Rural Development Programme money can be used for coronavirus support to farmers.
Up to 2% of EU funds can be used, which equates to a budget of €4.6m in NI.
Payments of up to €7,000 can be made to individual farms.
Details of how the initial £25m support package will be allocated are expected to be announced soon.
“The Minister has consulted with industry stakeholders and will make decisions on the allocation of COVID-19 funding and eligibility criteria in coming days,” a DAERA spokesperson confirmed.
The spokesperson referred only to the “£25m COVID support package” which indicates that the additional funding from DAERA might not be spent at this stage.
Instead, it could be held back to support farmers that take a financial hit later in the year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources suggest that around half of £25m fund will go to dairy farmers, to compensate them for losses this spring.
Read more
£25m support for dairy and beef sectors
Coronavirus package for NI agriculture announced
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