asked the Minister for Agriculture the qualification requirement for applications for land drainage under (a) the farm investment aid scheme and (b) the western drainage scheme.
Written Answers. - Land Drainage.
175.
The farm improvement programme provides aid for investment including land drainage to full time farmers who have adequate training and farming experience, whose income per man work unit (MWU) is below the reference income for the region and who undertake a farm improvement plan designed to improve the income per MWU by at least 5 per cent. A plan which provides for an income per MWU on completion of the plan in excess of 120 per cent of the reference income cannot be accepted.
The western drainage scheme provides aid to farmers for drainage of land suitable for and used exclusively for agriculture production and from which productivity can be expected to be significantly increased as a result of the drainage.