The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) today announced that a record 97% of farmers in Northern Ireland have received a full or balance CAP payment in December 2017.
The payments, totalling £95million, were issued to 23,395 farm businesses. Since the completion of advance payments in October 2017, the Department has maintained its drive to maximise payment performance. A total of £277million in CAP payments has been issued in 2017, an increase of £27million on 2016 payments.
This record number of payments, which builds on the achievements of last year (96%), has been made possible due to the significant increase in the number of farmers submitting their Single Application online, 99% in 2017. Claims made online are faster, more secure and more accurate. Payments can only be made on fully verified claims.
The number of businesses subject to a land inspection and which received a December payment has increased from 959 in 2016 to 1,471 in 2017.
The Department has made a particular effort to issue payments to businesses affected by the flooding of 22/23 August 2017, with 98% of the affected businesses receiving payment in December.
