Confusion surrounds the fees being charged by Teagasc to farmers taking part in the Knowledge Transfer (KT) programme.
A number of farmers who joined KT groups facilitated by Teagasc personnel have told the Irish Farmers Journal that they were unaware they would be charged for Teagasc membership for joining KT group membership.
ICMSA business chair Lorcan McCabe has called for Teagasc to clarify its charging structure after he was charged €290 for Teagasc membership because he joined a Teagasc-facilitated dairy KT group.
“When I signed up to the KT group last year, I understood that Teagasc was being paid €500 for the group planner. But two months later, lo and behold I get a bill for €290,” McCabe said.
“I pay a private consultant to do my Basic Payment Scheme, derogation, area aid, all that,” he explained. “But now I’ll have to switch to using Teagasc for those things. Otherwise I’ll be paying Teagasc €290 to do nothing, just to be a member.”
“When I entered the KT group, it wasn’t made clear that I would have to pay Teagasc €290 on top. We all presumed that the €500 was Teagasc’s fee for the KT group,” he continued.
Have we to question everything? I’m very annoyed about it.
"To me it’s a double payment and it’s discrimination – for me to enter KT, I have to be a member of a particular club.”
A number of farmers have been charged by Teagasc for membership of a discussion group rather than a KT group. KT group membership, according to the Teagasc fees structure, should have a zero charge on top of the annual Teagasc fee. It is understood that, when queried, some of these charges were subsequently dropped.
Double-charging
Responding to queries from the Irish Farmers Journal, a spokesperson for Teagasc said: “If there are any oversights in the billing, the farmer should speak to her/his regional advisory manager.”
“We are not in the business of double charging. However administration mistakes can occur when contracts roll over from one year to another, especially if a farmer is not fully committed to a KT group.”