A Northern Irish agri-environmental scheme which aims to protect biodiversity and mitigate against climate change has opened once again for applications.
The Higher Level of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) Tranche Six supports farmers to implement environmentally beneficial actions and works on their land.
The scheme, which opened again on 27 April, issues annual payments to help with bringing the province's most important environmental sites under favourable management.
Agreements usually involve payment for implementing a particular grazing regime, and can include other measures such as scrub, bracken or rush control.
So far, over 1,280 EFS Higher agreements and 4,250 EFS Wider Agreements are in place after five tranches, with an overall commitment of over £70m.
The scheme is designed for land with environmental designations, such as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), and other areas of priority habitat.
To check if land is eligible, the Department of Agriculture (DAERA) is telling applicants to log on to DAERA Online Services, under EFS. The fields for each farm business will be marked as either Higher or Wider Level.
Only those farming businesses with eligible ‘Higher’ fields will be able to submit an EFS Higher application, DAERA explains.
Applications for Tranche 6 EFS Higher must be submitted online before the end of Friday 13 May.
It is anticipated the EFS Tranche 6 agreements will start on 1 January 2023 and run for five years to 31 December 2027.
