Arable Area Payment Scheme 2004
A. A SUMMARY OF THE SCHEME
INTRODUCTION
1. The Arable Area Payments Scheme (AAPS) is a voluntary scheme, which was introduced as part of a series of measures reforming the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (EU). It offers area payments on eligible land to growers of cereals, linseed, oilseeds, proteins, flax and hemp.
2. This booklet describes the main AAPS rules and gives a checklist of the main dates on pages 6 and 7. You should read this booklet, and the Appendices that apply to you, carefully. You must not rely on this summary alone as a guide to the AAPS rules. If you have any questions on the AAPS rules, or you do not understand anything in this booklet, contact your local area office. For detailed advice on your business decisions, you should get professional advice. Staff at your local area office, or at our headquarters in Edinburgh, are not allowed to give this sort of detailed advice.
3. This booklet describes the rules in Scotland only. If you are farming elsewhere in the UK, please contact the relevant agriculture department ( Appendix 9) for a copy of their booklet.
CHANGES
4. We will pay AAPS aid on field margins if the distance from the boundary to the edge of the crop is no more than three metres (see paragraph 26).
5. Internal features of 2 metres or less can now be accepted provided they are permanent features (see paragraph 27).
6. If you claim for flax or hemp grown on land which is eligible only for this purpose, you can meet the corresponding 10% obligatory set-aside requirement from land which is eligible for AAPS or flax and hemp.
YIELD REGIONS
7. Scotland is divided into two yield regions:
- the less-favoured area (LFA), made up of land that is classed as disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged; and
- the non-LFA, made up of all other agricultural land that can be used.
Payment rates are fixed on a regional basis using historic average yields. For details of the other parts of the UK, you should contact the relevant agriculture department.
SET-ASIDE REQUIREMENT
8. So that the whole of the cropping area you are claiming for can qualify for AAPS aid, you should meet the following minimum requirements.
If you are a main producer
- If you are claiming more than 17.66 hectares in the LFA, the obligatory set-aside requirement is 10%.
- If you are claiming more than 16.23 hectares in the non-LFA, the obligatory set-aside requirement is 10%.
If you are a small producer
- If you are claiming less than the areas set out above, the obligatory set-aside requirement is nil. (Please see Appendix 2 for the rules on small producers.)
These areas apply to Scotland only - if you have land in more than one yield region, you should see Appendix 5.
APPLYING FOR AAPS
9. If you want to apply for AAPS aid in 2004, you will need to fill in an Area Aid Application (AAA) in spring 2004 under the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). We will automatically send further guidance and application forms to all producers who sent us an AAA in 2003 (except for those who merely registered their land), as long as our records show that the holding has not changed hands since then. We will announce in the press that we are issuing this material and will make extra copies available from local area offices. You are responsible for getting an AAA, filling it in correctly and returning it to your local area office so that it is received by 17 May 2004. (A penalty will apply after this deadline.)
10. We may inspect the land declared on your AAA. At that time we will need access to all relevant documents. If you fail to give us access to carry out an inspection, you could lose AAPS aid and, if appropriate, livestock aid.
11. We have produced this booklet with care and in good faith. However, it is not a full statement of the law. The relevant EU and Scottish legislation provides that full statement.
CHECKLIST - THE MAIN DATES
2003 |
Before sowing any oilseed rape | Make sure you have invoices, any relevant contracts and seed certification labels, and keep these available for inspection. |
1 October | If crops were still in the ground on the fields that you intend to set aside, you do not need to establish a green cover until it is practical to do so. |
2004 |
15 January | This is the start date for set-aside. From this date you must not have any crops still in the ground or graze the land. |
31 January | By this date your non-food set-aside contracts for crops sown between 1 July and 31 December 2003 must be signed and received by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). |
17 May | This is the deadline for us to receive your Area Aid Application (AAA) for 2004. A penalty will apply after this date. |
17 May | By this date your non-food contracts for spring crops (sown between 1 January and 31 May 2004) must be signed and received by the RPA. |
31 May | By this date, you must have sown any crops on which you want to claim Arable Area Payments. |
9 June | This is the final deadline for us to receive your AAA if you are claiming AAPS aid. |
15 June | This is the final date for sowing sweetcorn and hemp. |
Early July | This is when the representative yields for non-food set-aside crops will be published. |
On or after 15 July | You may prepare and sow your 2004 set-aside land for crops intended for harvest from 15 January 2005. See the detailed rules at paragraph 127. |
15 July to 15 August | This is the compulsory period for cutting any green cover on your set-aside land. |
31 August | This is the end of the set-aside period. However, there are still controls on using any remaining green cover. |
Early November | This is when we will announce any overshoot of the base area or penalties on oilseeds payments. |
16 November | AAPS payments start. |
2005 |
14 January | This is the end of controls on using green cover on 2004 set-aside land. |
31 January | This is the normal deadline for AAPS payments to be made (except non-food set-aside). |
9 February | This is the last date for us to receive IACS 9 forms for non-food crops on set-aside land. |
31 March | This is the normal deadline for non-food set-aside payments to be made. |
AAPS is due to be replaced in 2005. We will issue separately details of the new grant scheme to replace AAPS.