Scheme will require a long list of specific actions from participants

THE Results-based Environmental-Agri Pilot (REAP) is a two-year project that is based on the model used in the Burren Programme and others such as Hen Harrier and Pearly Mussel projects, according to the Dept. of Agriculture.

In their official booklet on the scheme, the Dept. point out that REAP differs from the ‘prescription based’ model used in GLAS – instead farmers are ‘rewarded’ by linking payments to the quality of environmental outcomes delivered.

The Dept. point out that in REAP, grassland, field margins and field boundaries are scored using indicators which reflect the environmental value of these features.

“This approach has the effect of creating a market for environmental services including: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, water quality and soil health.

“[The scheme] will provide an opportunity and incentive for farmers to earn payments for managing their farmland in an environmentally friendly manner in tandem with our need to produce high quality food,” the Dept. state.

Some of the key elements in the ‘farm with nature’ philosophy outlined in REAP are: measures to save bee species; good buffer zones at watercourses; incorporating legumes (peas and beans) into reseeds; nurturing taller vegetation; a three-year cycle of hedge cutting rather than an annual one; enhancing field margins and hedgerows; and the restoration of dry-stone walls (no cement to be used).

In terms of low-input grassland, a suitable field for entry into the scheme is described as one that receives low levels of fertiliser (both chemical and organic); a low ryegrass cover (under 30%); and a minimum of four grass species.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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