REPS 3 may benefit 50,000 farms
Eugene Ryan, Head of REPS with Teagasc, said the new REPS 3 has the attraction of an increase of 30% in payments to farmers together with the opportunity to participate in a range of environmental enhancement activities.
“For a 40 ha (100 acres) farm, the basic REPS payment is now €7,500 a year for five years. Attractive additional payments are also available for farmers who adopt supplementary environment improvement measures.”
Mr Ryan said that as farmers plan their future following the implementation of the radical changes in farm policy next January, they must look seriously at maximum involvement in REPS.
He announced that payments to farmers under REPS over the past decade have totalled €1.3 billion. A total of 45,500 farmers had participated in REPS 1 between 1994 and 1999.
Participation levels in REPS 2 dropped to 38,500 between November 2000 and March 2004. This was largely due to static payments since the introduction of the scheme in 1994.
“The substantial increase in payments under REPS 3 gives a renewed impetus to participation levels. Teagasc estimates that up to 55,000 farmers could join the scheme.
“Allowing for a dropout of 3,500 participants from REPS 2, the new scheme has the potential to attract 20,000 new participants between now and the end of 2006,” he said.
Mr Ryan stressed that REPS must deliver for the environment if it is to continue in its present broad context. A key feature of the new scheme is the increased emphasis on bio-diversity enhancement.
