‘Complex rules’ creating unequal BPS payments

Despite efforts in 2013 to simplify the Basic Payment System (BPS), the European Court of Auditors has found that complex BPS rules have created an unequal level of support reaching bigger farmers.

While the news is unlikely to come as a shock to many farmers, the report is likely to hold some weight in the next round of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) talks, as Budget 2020 draws closer.

In Cork last year, some 168 farmers received over €20,000 in BPS payments, with seven farmers receiving over €50,000 and two farmers receiving over €70,000 each.

Favouring large farms

The report also reinforces comments made by the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan, that payments need to be reviewed and redistributed to ensure that the BPS does not favour larger farmers in the next CAP budget.

The BPS is the biggest income support scheme for farmers, with annual expenditure of roughly €18bn received by some four million farmers in the EU.

Ireland receives around €1.2bn a year for BPS Pillar I funding, with 70% paid as a direct payment and 30% given as greening payment for measures such as crop diversification and maintaining permanent grassland.

CAP budget

Almost 38% of the entire EU budget is spent on CAP, but this has dropped significantly from holding a 75% share in the last three decades.

“The Basic Payment Scheme is an important source of income for many farmers, but it has inherent limitations,” said João Figueiredo, the member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report.

“It does not take account of market conditions, use of agricultural land or the individual circumstances of the holding, and is not based on an analysis of the overall income situation of farmers”.

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