Ulster Unionist Party agricultural spokesperson, Tom Elliott MLA has welcomed the announcement that £200m will be available for farmers in Northern Ireland over the next five years to provide opportunities for farmers to do even more for the environment
"The previous scheme", he said, "achieved its target of 4,000 participant farmers, with some 150,000 hectares under agreement".
The new scheme will open for applications this Summer and, according to Mr Elliott, it can build on the success of the past.
The amount of grant aid for farmers taking part in the renewed scheme is expected to rise by an average of 20-25% for the 2008-2013 period.
He went on: "The new scheme will provide opportunities for farmers to do even more for the environment and, with many of the current options remaining, additional new measures will be available to help improve biodiversity on farmland.
"As I understand it, consideration will be given to allow existing participants the opportunity to move to the new scheme over the period of the Rural Development Programme and to take advantage of the new options and payment rates".
New measures to boost declining species, such as bees and the Irish hare are included in the new scheme which merges the current Countryside Management Scheme and Environmentally Sensitive Area Schemes.
Farmers should apply between 30 June and 29 August and, also, they should make applications to the Organic Farming Scheme between 1 September 2008 and 31 October 2008.
Most farms within Northern Ireland, regardless of location, will have at least some land which is perhaps less productive or less accessible for large machinery. These are the areas that could be used for many of the environmental options in the scheme.
Mr Elliott concluded: "As a farmer, I find it is somewhat ironic that the EU is co funding Agri Environmental schemes.
"But the power of the world market is unable to halt the destruction of many animal and plant species due to the decimation of thousands of acres of rain forests in Brazil to make way for beef production or supply of bio fuel crops."
