Women Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed the full list of requirements for eligibility under the Women Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme.
The measure, according to the DAFM, provides an incentive to women farmers to upgrade their agricultural buildings and equipment by providing them with an increased level of support to meet the “considerable” capital costs associated with the establishment of their enterprises.
It is designed to promote gender equality, employment, generational renewal, social inclusion, local development in rural areas, improve efficiency and create environmental benefits, according to the DAFM.
Grant aid is paid at the rate of 60% up to a maximum of €90,000 per holding, with a minimum amount of investment eligible for approval under this scheme of €2,000 per application.
Age range & BPS declarations
The scheme is open to farmers who are:
- Age: More than 18 years and under 67 years of age at the date of submitting the application form;
- Identified as female on the department’s Corporate Customer Management (CCM) system;
- Own or have leasehold title to the site on which it is proposed to carry out the development;
- Have a minimum of 5 hectares declared under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or the preceding year;
- For tillage-related investments, have a minimum of 15 hectares of eligible crops (Annex H) declared under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) /Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or previous year;
- In the case of intensive enterprises, generate a minimum of 20 production units from farming;
- For equine investments only prior to submitting the online TAMS 3 application, have a minimum of 5 hectares of eligible land owned and/or leased or rented which has been declared under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and/or the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or preceding year and a minimum of 3 equines declared on the equine census or equivalent in the year preceding application.
Herd number and Green Cert
- The applicant must be named on the herd number for the holding. The herd must have submitted an application on BPS for the 2022 reference year either as an individual/registered farm partnership or company;
- Where the reference year requirements are not met, applicants must fulfil the requirement regarding occupational skill and competence on the date of application or within 36 months from the date of issue of department approval to the applicant to commence works. If this criterion is not met, the applicant will not be eligible for the 60% rate;
- In the case of a woman farmer farming with others, a declaration is required that the woman farmer exercises effective and long-term control over the partnership or legal person in terms of decisions related to management, benefits and financial risks either solely or jointly together with other members of the partnership.
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