Schemes paying farmers on designated land up to €490/ha for a suite of measures including rush control, extensive grazing and cutting fertiliser use are under consideration by Government.The schemes fall under a plan for the country’s Natura 2000 lands, which cover over 2.2m acres of land and are farmed by 35,000 farmers.
Schemes paying farmers on designated land up to €490/ha for a suite of measures including rush control, extensive grazing and cutting fertiliser use are under consideration by Government.
The schemes fall under a plan for the country’s Natura 2000 lands, which cover over 2.2m acres of land and are farmed by 35,000 farmers.
Some €400/ha could be paid for the control of rushes as part of a hen harrier scheme, while some farmers could receive €400/ha for “exclusion areas” to prevent livestock entering certain habitats. A €15m/year payment to designated farmers for the administrative cost of managing these lands is also proposed by the Department of Heritage.
Its proposals are expected to form part of Ireland’s CAP strategic plan.
Meanwhile, a new European Commission report has recommended that direct payments should be targeted at regions where farmers’ incomes and quality of life lag behind those of farmers in other regions.
“Basic payments should be more focused on those farm scales and types which suffer from the worst social and economic conditions,” it said.
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