Arable Area Payments (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations, which come into operation on 5th October 1998, amend the Arable Area Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (S.R. 1997 No. 477) (“the principal Regulations”). The principal Regulations make provision for the implementation of Council Regulation 1765/92, which establishes a support system for producers of certain arable crops, and the Commission Regulations made under it, namely Commission Regulation 762/94, Commission Regulation 658/96 and Commission Regulation 1586/97. The principal amendments are specified below.

Amendments are made to regulation 11(6) and (7) of the principal Regulations modifying the conditions relating to planting distances in relation to rapeseed (regulation 2(4)). The planting distances are specified in the principal Regulations to give effect to the quality policy adopted pursuant to Article 4(2) of Commission Regulation 658/96.

The date by which a farmer is required to make the declaration for non-food crops which he is required to make by Article 5(4) of Commission Regulation 1586/97 is amended. Before the coming into operation of these Regulations, this date was the 15th November in the scheme year in respect of which set-aside compensatory payments have been claimed. As from the coming into operation of these Regulations, the relevant date is the 9th February in the scheme year following that scheme year (regulation 2(5)). The date by which a collector or first processor of non-food crops is required to provide the information referred to in regulation 12(2) of the principal Regulations is also amended from the 15th November in the scheme year in respect of which set-aside compenssatory payments have been claimed to the 9th February in the scheme year following that scheme year (regulation 2(5)).

A number of modifications have been made to Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (management requirements in relation to set-aside land), by inserting new conditions in Parts B and D which relate to the type, amount and origin of organic waste which may be applied to set-aside land, and the period during which these conditions are to apply (regulation 2(6)). The management requirements specified in Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations were imposed pursuant to Article 3(3) of Commission Regulation 762/94 which requires Member States to take appropriate measures in relation to set-aside land.