To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for an update on the delivery of the Sustainable Agriculture Programme.

Delivery of the Sustainable Agriculture Programme has continued in line with the timeline published in January 2025. This has included Year 2 of the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme, the Farming for Sustainability – Knowledge Scheme, the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment, the Dairy Carbon Networks project, Year 1 of the Suckler Cow Scheme, the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme Zone 4, Year 1 of the Farming with Nature Transition Scheme and the Horticulture Pilot Scheme.

The commencement of the Farming with Nature Package was a key priority for me this year. I am encouraged by the good uptake of the first strand of this Package, the Farming with Nature Transition Scheme, demonstrating that the demand exists within the farming community to do more for nature.

This year also saw the introduction of the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment (FSTP) that replaced the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) with minimal changes, retaining the minimum claim size at 3ha and introducing the historic years exercise as part of the Farm Sustainability Payment that is planned for introduction in 2026.

Alongside those SAP schemes which have already commenced, policy development for future schemes is ongoing in collaboration with industry stakeholders. A supporting programme of communications is also in place to encourage Scheme participation.

The SAP timeline, that is subject to necessary business case agreements and legislation, can be viewed on the Department’s website.