The Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (WFCIS) under the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) has opened for applications.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said that the scheme provides an incentive to women farmers to upgrade their agricultural buildings and equipment with an increased level of support.
The WFCIS, the final scheme to open in TAMS 3, aims to promote gender equality, employment, growth, generation renewal and social inclusion by supporting the participation of women in farming, the department said.
TAMS
Under the scheme, grant aid is paid at the rate of 60% up to a maximum of €90,000/holding.
The DAFM said that multiple applications per tranche are allowed, however the minimum amount of investment which is eligible for approval under this scheme is €2,000/application.
Applicants who receive approval to proceed with investment works at the maximum ceiling of €90,000 under this scheme are not eligible to apply for grants under any other TAMS II scheme with the exception of the Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) Equipment Scheme.
In the case of an application by two or more eligible partners, the maximum increases to €160,000.
The scheme is open to women farmers aged from 18 to 67 at the date of submitting the application form.
They must own or have leasehold title to the site on which it is proposed to carry out the development, have a minimum of 5ha declared under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or preceding year.
For tillage related investments, applicants must have a minimum of 15ha of eligible crops or in the case of intensive enterprises, generate a minimum of 20 production units from farming,
In the case of equine investments only, they are required to have a minimum of three equines declared on the Equine Census or equivalent in the year preceding application.
Applications under the WFCIS for all milking machines are restricted to holdings of no more than 120 dairy cows on average over the calendar year preceding the date of application.
Applications under this scheme for all milking machine investments must have at least 10% additional slurry storage above the legal minimum.
Within the five years prior to the date of application or submission of a payment claim, all applicants must have completed the half day Farm Safety Code of Practice or have completed the Green Cert.
A full list of eligible investments under this TAMS scheme is available on the DAFM website.
The deadline for Tranche 1 TAMS 3 applications is Friday, June 30, 2023.
(Source – Agriland – Aisling O Brien – 22/06/2023)