£286.9million in Direct Payments to Northern Ireland farmers has issued on 1 September this year, Agriculture Minister, Edwin Poots MLA, has confirmed.
Minister Poots said: “The ongoing disruption to agricultural markets, in particular due to the situation in Ukraine, is having a huge impact on farm businesses in Northern Ireland. To help them with cash flow, annual payments have commenced six weeks earlier than previous years. I am pleased to confirm that £286.9million has issued to 23,208 farmers on 1 September. This is only possible because we have left the European Union and can now make decisions to suit local needs."
The Minister continued: “I am also pleased to announce that there has again been a one-off increase in Basic Payment Scheme payments, to ensure that all funding ring-fenced for this purpose is used. The increase in 2022 will be 2.04%."
£286.9million has issued to 23,208 farmers (97% of eligible applicants) on the first day of payments. The small number of remaining applications will continue to be verified by DAERA, with payments being released daily from 1 September onwards. Payments will be the full payment due for 2022. Payment letters will issue by post to all customers but can also be viewed online immediately via DAERA Online Services.
Notes to editors:
- Annual funding for agricultural support in Northern Ireland has been guaranteed by the Treasury until the end of this Parliament. To ensure that this funding is fully utilised within Northern Ireland, an increase of 2.04% will be made to BPS payments in 2022. This one-off increase only applies to 2022 payments and equates to approximately £250 extra for each farmer. Depending on the size of their claim, some farmers will receive more than this amount and some farmers will receive less.
- This one-off increase in BPS payments for 2022 is less than the equivalent increase made in 2021. Funding has been reallocated to a number of agricultural, rural, and environmental projects being taken forward by DAERA in 2022.
- On 1 September payments to applicants of the pilot Protein Crops Scheme will also issue, totalling £208,355.
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