Green farming scheme flourishing

The exceptionally high standard being set by farmers in the Burren as part of the Burren Farming for Conservation Programme (BFCP) could open the door for other farmers in the area to take part in the scheme, it was claimed this week.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine began issuing farmers in North Clare with payments as part of the BFCP this week.
“We’re delighted with the first year of the BFCP. We’ve had great support from the Department of Agriculture and the NPWS, who co-sponsor the programme.
“It’s the response of the participating farmers, which has been the most impressive. Many of the farmers have in fact done more than was asked of them in terms of the quantity and quality of work done and there has been a huge pride in showing off this work. The payments these farmers have now received are terrific value for taxpayers’ money as BFCP only pay for work done and results generated.
“Of course, as we always remind these farmers, they will be the first ones to benefit from the improved water quality and habitat health resulting from the BFCP,” Dr Brendan Dunford, programme manager with BFCP, told The Clare Champion this week.
“My biggest hope for the future is that we can secure the additional funding we need to open the BFCP out to accommodate any Burren farmer who wants to farm for conservation. The BFCP is massively oversubscribed but by setting an exceptionally high standard in how we do our job, we are confident of attracting more funding to accommodate new entrants and thereby having an even greater impact on the Burren and its rural communities,” he added.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, confirmed that payments under the new, three-year, €3 million BFCP began issuing to farmers on Friday. This is a three-year agri-environmental programme, which was open to all farmers who farm in the Burren region in North Clare and South Galway.
Minister Coveney said, “I am delighted to confirm the issuing of payments averaging €6,000 to 117 farmers under the BFCP to support high environmental value farming in the Burren, which is one of Ireland’s outstanding landscapes and is known worldwide.”
He added, “In its first year, the BFCP has already generated significant environmental benefits, including a major shift away from the feeding of silage to ration-based feeding systems, the repair of 18km of broken walls, the provision of new water supplies and the removal of scrub from species-rich grassland. These developments will result in improved water quality in this very sensitive karst landscape, protect sensitive limestone springs from pollution and allow the Burren’s famous rare flora to emerge every spring.”
In addition, a new network of paths has been opened up, helping to keep the landscape open and accessible and protecting some of Europe’s rarest grasslands.
Of the 338 farmers who applied for the BFCP after it was announced last year, 116 were selected by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food based on a range of strict environmental criteria, including the extent of designated land and number of listed monuments on the farm, as well as their history of REPS participation.
The closing date for applications was last summer and since then €654,820 has been allocated to participating farmers, working out at an average payment of €5,645.
Minister Coveney added, “In the particularly tough financial climate it is essential that funding is focused on programmes delivering identifiable and verifiable agri-environmental measures. Without doubt, the BFCP guarantees excellent value for money – farmers are paid on the basis of work done and outputs generated and all works are co-financed by the farmer and are improving the biodiversity, water quality, cultural and landscape attributes on almost 13,000 hectares of Ireland’s flagship heritage landscape, the Burren.”
Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said the importance of the BFCP payments to farmers in North Clare cannot be understated.
“For years, those living in the Burren have told me of their desire to remain in the area but also to be able to generate an income for themselves and their families. It is vital that we look at ways of ensuring farmers in the Burren are sustained as they are the frontline of environmental protectors when it comes to preserving this unique region,” he commented.
“I believe also we must look at ways where eco-tourism can benefit the local population more and ensure that money spent in the Burren benefits the local population.
“There is an ongoing attention to conservation, which must also be managed, as we are in a sense only caretakers of this unique area of natural beauty,” Deputy Carey added.