New rules mean farmers need to keep closer eye on their Single Farm Payments entitlements - Gildernew

Minister Michelle Gildernew today reminded all Single Farm Payment (SFP) applicants of the changes to the entitlement usage rules.

The Minister said: "I am concerned that farm families are not maximising their farm incomes by claiming their Single Farm Payment each year. If farmers do not activate their SFP entitlements frequently enough they may lose them. In the past, farmers had to activate their entitlements once every three years. From 2010, entitlements need to be activated at least once every two years."

She continued: "One particular group of applicants that worry me are those farmers who did not activate their entitlements in the 2009 SFP scheme years and who may not realise the position they are in. In most cases, if these farmers do not activate their entitlements in 2010, they will no longer be able to claim payment on these. If farmers have not claimed SFP in 2009, they should make sure that they claim this year.

"If entitlements are not activated, they are confiscated and returned to the National Reserve. In 2008, about 1,625 SFP applicants had some or all of their entitlements returned to the National Reserve. These are the EU rules and my Department has no option other than to apply these. Our farmers need to keep a closer eye on their entitlements to ensure they do not lose out under the new tighter time-limits set by the EU this year."

Notes to editors:

1. The EU require that SFP entitlements have to be activated at least once every two years (prior to 2010 this requirement was once every three years). If entitlements are not activated they are lost and their value returned to the National Reserve.
2. For the 2008 scheme year, 1,625 farm businesses either had all or some of their entitlements confiscated.
3. Details on the rules for activating entitlements have always been included in the SFP guidance material. It is the SFP applicant’s responsibility to activate their entitlements. However, to help them, rather than applicants having to tell us what entitlements they want to activate each year, provided they claim an equal number of hectares, we activate the entitlements on their behalf (up to the limit given) unless they tell us otherwise. We prioritise any entitlements that were not activated in the previous year.
4. The change from a three year usage to a two year usage was one of a number of changes to the 2010 SFP scheme. To alert applicants of these changes, in December 2009, we issued a 'Dear Producer' letter to everyone on the 2009 SAF list. This year, in the 2010 guidance material, we have provided detailed guidance on the need to activate entitlements once every two years on Page 3 of the booklet under the heading 'Main Changes for 2010'.
5. All media queries to the DARD Press Office on 028 9052 4619. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07699 715 440.