Up to 46,000 farmers have applied for the first tranche of the new ACRES program, according to the Farming Independent.
Despite criticism of the program from farming organizations and opposition TDs, the first tranche of the program, which closed to applications last week, will be massively oversubscribed, increasing pressure on the government to find more funding.
Agriculture Secretary Charlie McConalogue secured funding in the 2023 budget to put 30,000 farmers in the first tranche of the scheme, meaning about 16,000 farmers could miss a payment next year.
However, should more funds not be secured for the first tranche of the program, the primary ranking process within ACRES will be through its tier structure: Tier 1 will take precedence over Tier 2, which in turn will take precedence over Tier 3.
The Farming Independent estimates that up to 18,000 applications have been made by farmers who will take part in the collaborative element of the programme, which will be placed in Tier 1 of the program and should be given automatic access.
Concerns have been raised that the high numbers in this category could mean that not all Tier 2 applicants may be able to access the first tranche of the program if the total is capped at 30,000.
It is also understood that there is now unease that the management teams organizing the rollout of the ACRES program in collaborative areas may not have the capacity to cater to all applicants.
Within Tier 2, applicants are prioritized in the following order: 1: Farmers whose land is known to be located in a vulnerable water area 2: Intensive farmers who choose a priority action, and 3: Farmers who participate in specific forest programs or who commit to one of the tree planting events.
The third way the ministry could rank applications is by applying specific selection criteria, with each farmer receiving a specific score.
With agri-environmental schemes accounting for a significant part of the income of many farmers, farming organizations are likely to put pressure on the government to accept the applications of all those who applied for the first tranche.
In addition, the Government will also be aware of calls to urgently step up climate and biodiversity action in the agricultural sector and the potential for negative publicity generated by denying farmers access to its flagship agri-environment scheme in the first year 1.5 billion euros is refused.
