Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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464. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated costs of providing 1,000, 2,000, 2,500 and 5,000 spaces in the results-based environment agri pilot programme. [38472/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Results-Based Environmental Agri Pilot (REAP) project is a pilot project, developed on foot of commitment in the Programme for Government to reward farmers for adapting to more sustainable methods of farming. The purpose of the pilot is to contribute to the development of a new agri-environment scheme capable of delivering broad environmental and biodiversity benefits that will align financial supports with climate objectives. The pilot project is designed to test the results-based approach on a variety of farm types and will feed into the development of the next national agri-environment scheme which is currently being developed under the new Common Agricultural Policy.

As a pilot initiative, it was initially intended to limit it to 2,000 participants in line with similar projects. However, the intake number for the project was increased following engagement with the EU Commission. Approvals were subsequently issued to 4,926 farmers for support to undertake environmental commitments to increase the environmental value of their farm features.

The below table provides estimated figures for the project based on average payment rates. As the Deputy will be aware, a number of factors will affect the level of payment a participant will receive, such as the size of the fields entered, the scorecard selected, any complementary actions selected along with the score allocated to the holding.