Smith seeks EU approval to bring forward 2010 single farm payments

APPROVAL for an advance payment of the 2010 single farm payment has been sought from the European Commission by Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith to help alleviate the financial plight of farmers.

Mr Smith said farmers experienced adverse weather conditions over the last 12 months, particularly widespread flooding and very severe frost, coupled with the general financial crisis.

He said he had written to Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos requesting formal approval to allow an advance of the single payment be made with effect from October 16.

This is the first day of the new EU financial year and the earliest date an advance payment can be made.

The commission has indicated it will examine requests from individual member states for advance payments on their merits, in order to ensure that regulatory requirements are met.

Requests will then be submitted to the Management Committee for formal consideration and payment approval.

Mr Smith said the adverse weather conditions late last year and early this year had prompted him to introduce two emergency once-off support measures, the Damaged Fodder Aid Scheme and the Frost Aid Scheme, to support affected farmers.

In addition, the significant drop in farm income, across all sectors, has been compounded by the national and international credit crisis, the result for farmers being a severe restriction on the availability of access to working capital.

Rainfall in 2009 was above normal everywhere for the third successive summer, with around twice the average in some areas and with several areas actually recording record levels.

“In addition, we had the wettest autumn in nine years, and the wettest November on record. This was followed by the coldest winter in almost fifty years.”

Mr Smith said a decision to allow an advance of the single payment would go some way towards alleviating the financial plight of farmers.

Noting the success of his department’s campaign to have farmers identify ineligible areas on their farms, he said this was enabling the vital work of ensuring that the official records match the reality on the ground.

“I am very encouraged by farmers’ positive response to the campaign,” he said, stressing that maps in respect of over 100,000 parcels have been submitted to his Department.