Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
21. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sources of funding of the Results-Based Environment-Agri Pilot Project; if he will review the payment rates for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26494/21]
View answerAn additional €79 million, including €23 million from the carbon tax fund, was provided in Budget 2021 to support actions by the Department in the area of biodiversity, climate, environment and farm health and safety, all the while supporting farm incomes. This is already being implemented across a range of agri-environment measures including the Results Based Environment Agri Pilot (REAP). REAP will be co-funded from the technical assistance budget of the Rural Development Programme, subject to EU Commission approval of the 10th amendment to the Programme.
REAP is an innovative, ambitious and farmer-friendly pilot that will deliver an important income boost to farmers while driving environmental benefits. It also helps the Department and indeed farmers and advisors to test some innovative actions and results-based scoring to inform the design of the next big agri-environment scheme. While the project will support our environmental objectives, it will also support farm incomes by providing up to €12,600 to participating farms over the term of their REAP contract. It is a targeted measure for farmers not currently participating in other agri-environment schemes.
The application stage is now closed and I’m delighted with the level of interest shown with approximately 10,800 applications submitted from 455 advisors. Obviously this is heavily over-subscribed and we are reviewing the scheme approvals in this light. I have written to the EU Commissioner for Agriculture to inform him on the application rate and to explore opportunities for approving more farmers.
REAP will score farm features to identify how management practices have impacted on the environmental status of the holding. Scoring will be calculated with reference to defined indicators, chosen to reflect overall biodiversity and ecological integrity. Payments will be linked to environmental quality. In recognition of the environmental and biodiversity quality achieved, farms with the highest scoring will receive the greatest payment. The model gives the farmer the ability to boost their payments by incentivising positive environmental works.
REAP will provide a positive boost to farm incomes while driving environmental ambition. It is a real and tangible example of the partnership approach Government wants to take with farmers in addressing the climate and biodiversity challenges.
