The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., has recently announced the allocation of funding for the 2017 National Reserve. Minister Creed said, “the National Reserve is a vital resource for providing support to young farmers and new entrants to farming in the crucial years following the establishment of the farm holding”.
Following recent consultation between the Department and the Direct Payments Advisory Committee, comprising members of the main farming bodies and agricultural advisory and education providers, it has been decided that a linear cut to the value of all Basic Payment Scheme entitlements will provide funding of just over €5 million to the National Reserve in 2017. This amount is equivalent to a number of unspent funds under the Young Farmers Scheme in 2015 which was added to the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD at the announcement of the opening of the National Reserve 2017 with President of Macra Sean Finan
The EU Regulations underpinning the operation of the National Reserve provide for priority access to the mandatory categories of ‘Young Farmer’ and ‘New Entrant to Farming’. Successful applicants to the National Reserve receive an allocation of entitlements at National Average value or a top-up to the National Average value on entitlements that are below the national average.
In addition, the Minister announced that the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme will also be available to provide an additional payment to any person who qualifies as a ‘young farmer’.
The Minister concluded “The 2015 National Reserve proved to be a huge success in facilitating the entry of over 6,000 young, well-educated persons into the farming community. The National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme, together with the value of associated Greening payments, provided for an allocation of Pillar 1 payments in excess of €52 million in 2015. The 2017 National Reserve will build on this progress in helping to provide a solid basis for the future of the agriculture Industry in Ireland”.
As the National Reserve fund for 2017 is a very scarce resource the scheme will be targeted specifically at educated young farmers and new entrants to farming who fulfill specific objective criteria. The National Reserve on-line application form together with full terms and conditions will be available when the scheme opens for applications in March 2017.
