Almost 97% of eligible farmers received their 2019 Basic Payment Scheme money by 20 January, significantly ahead of the June 2020 deadline.
Latest figures released on Wednesday (22 January) show that payments worth £1.69 billion were made to farmers by 20 January.
Additionally, those who claimed in 2019 on their Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements are receiving one full revenue payment this year, as part of a wider improvement plan to deliver a better service to farmers.
This means that ES and CS final payments have started to arrive with customers four months earlier than last year, with approximately £109 million paid out to those under both agri-environment schemes so far.
This is more than double the total amount paid out this time last year.
Unveiling the figures, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) chief executive, Paul Caldwell said: “We fully appreciate how important prompt payments are to farmers and I’m pleased that we have continued to deliver ahead of the deadline thanks to the efforts of our staff.
“We remain focused on continuously improving the delivery and performance of our schemes and ensuring remaining payments are made as quickly as possible.”
Just under 90% of CS and ES customers who received a bridging payment on their outstanding stewardship claims in July last year have now had their full payment processed.
Eligible BPS, CS and ES customers should expect to receive their full payment by the end of the payment window in June 2020.
