Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) & Organic Farming
REPS provides a basic payment to all participants along with an additional payment to those availing of the organic measure. The rates of payment in REPS 3 are:
Basic payment rates
| Horticultural Holdings of <= 3 hectares (ha) with at least 1.0 ha under fruit or vegetables (excludes green manures) | Holdings >3ha and up to 55ha | >55 ha (rates in previous column apply up to 55ha) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In conversion | €242/ha | €181/ha | €30/ha |
| Full organic status | €121/ha | €91/ha | €15/ha |
- An organic farmer with 55 hectares can receive an annual payment of €18,505 for the first two years and €13,555 per annum for the remaining three years.
- To avail of SM6, participants must be approved by a private inspection body and be registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.
- Participants must carry out their farming activity for a 5-year period in accordance with the Scheme Specification.
A minimum stocking rate of 0.5 livestock units is required to avail of full payments under the measure. For crop production (non-livestock systems) at least 50% of the area eligible for payment must be cropped. For mixed farming systems, payment for crop production will be based on the area cropped.
