Early Payment of Basic Payment Scheme Confirmed at Tillage Sector Stakeholders Meeting
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D today confirmed the early payment of this year’s advance payment to farmers under the Basic Payment Scheme will proceed on the 17th of October. The Minister was speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in the Tillage sector to discuss both the current challenges and also the opportunities that lie ahead for the sector.
“I am today confirming that I have prioritised the processing of payments under the Basic Payment Scheme, where we will be paying out 70% advance payment on the 17th October. This early payment in conjunction with the Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme, GLAS and AEOS payments collectively are worth over €1.5 billion annually to farmers” the Minister added.
The tillage sector provides valuable raw material for the feed industry, straw for the livestock and mushroom compost industries and importantly for the rapidly developing brewing and malting industries.
“The tillage sector is a very important sector in the agricultural economy. It has been a challenging year both in terms of market returns and inclement weather conditions. I have called together the stakeholders to firstly listen to the challenges but importantly to discuss the opportunities that lie ahead for the industry” said Minister Creed.
Minister Creed re-iterated that the Government’s commitment to the sector, both at farm and processing level is fully reflected in the Food Wise 2025 blueprint for the industry, also highlighting the opportunities to increase the focus on adding value to what is a quality product.
Minister Creed said that in this changing landscape we need to take a fresh look at our tillage industry and to ensure that it is best positioned to withstand possible threats and to avail of new opportunities which may present themselves.
“The provision of Low Cost flexible finance is a priority for me under the Programme for Government and I am engaged in intensive ongoing negotiations with the Financial Institutions, in particular the SBCI, other Government Departments and the EU Commission in this regard. By using State Aid de minimis rules, I am determined to ensure that any new Loan Product will be available to Tillage Farmers on similar Terms and Conditions as Livestock Farmers” concluded Minister Creed.
To view this Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 128/2016 (pdf 368Kb)
Date Released: 05 October 2016
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
