The tillage sector is a sector I have strongly supported in recent years. I doubled the annual budget for the Protein Aid Scheme from €3m to €7m and the Tillage Incentive Scheme resulted in payments of almost €11 million to scheme applicants last year. I have committed to pay the €200 maintenance on new ground from 2023 also. The Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) has paid €19.5m to tillage farmers since it was launched as a pilot in 2021. I announced €6.5m in additional funding for SIM this year on top of the €10m under the CAP Strategic Plan to ensure support for all applicants under the Scheme. Tillage farmers are also eligible and participate in the Agri-Environment scheme ACRES and in the Organic Farming schemes.
I am acutely aware and fully appreciate the many challenges that tillage growers have experienced in 2023 as a result of continued high costs of production and reduced output prices. These challenges were further compounded by the unfavourable weather conditions throughout the 2023 crop growing season, and I am aware of some unharvested crops in a number of areas.
I specifically requested support from the EU Agriculture Reserve for the tillage sector in light of the significant challenges in 2023. A support package of €7.148 million has been allocated to the sector under this fund where a one-off flat rate payment of €28 per hectare will be made on the area of oilseed rape, winter and spring barley, wheat and rye declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme in 2023. Payments will be made on a minimum area of five hectares and will be capped at 100 hectares per grower.
In Budget 2024, I secured an additional €8 million funding which will be specifically targeted at the tillage sector. I have been engaging with farming organisations on the best way to utilise this funding and will be providing details on this shortly.
