Proposals for a new rural environmental protection scheme have been submitted to the European Commission as part of a draft rural development plan for the period 2000-2006. These proposals, which are subject to the approval of the Commission, include a provision for a higher rate of payment per hectare for smaller holdings not exceeding 20 hectares in total area. This proposal takes account of the recommendation in the evaluation report of July 1999, and is an effort to increase uptake of smaller holdings.
As regards larger intensive farmers, the evaluation report of July 1999 referred to the option of relaxing nutrient guidelines in an effort to make the scheme more attractive to such producers. The report concluded that this would be regressive in environmental terms, however, as one of the objectives of the REP scheme is to promote the production of quality food in an extensive and environmentally friendly manner and such a course of action would undermine the message of environmentally friendly management that REPS is intended to promote.
To make full participation in REPS financially attractive to larger intensive farmers, it is likely that basic rates of payment would have to be increased significantly. The funding available precludes this. In an effort to maximise the area of environmentally sensitive land farmed to the REPS specification, however, a new proposal has been included in the programme submitted to the Commission. This proposal is that farmers who have target area land but do not wish to participate in the general REPS programme may opt for payment on the target land area only, up to a maximum eligible area for payment of ten hectares, on condition that they implement a nutrient management plan in accordance with the Code of Good Agricultural Practice to Protect Waters from Nitrates on the entire holding.