Press release
McConalogue announces opening of the Woman Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme under TAMS 3
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) scheme provides funding for capital investments on farms and will be in place for five years with a budget of €370 million.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, announced the launch of the Woman Farmer Capital Investment Scheme, which is the tenth and final scheme to open under the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).
Minister McConalogue said:
“Gender equality is a priority for my department, as well as being a cross-cutting objective of the current CAP, so I am delighted to announce the launch of the TAMS 3 Woman Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme. This is an important support to women farmers in the industry and offers a higher grant aid rate at 60% for those qualifying. The scheme includes investment items for dairy, beef, sheep, pig, poultry and tillage enterprises. These investments cover areas of animal welfare and housing, energy efficiency and nutrient management, and will assist women farmers in meeting capital costs.”
Minister Hackett added:
“As a female farmer, I am delighted to see the launch of the TAMS 3 Woman Farmers Capital investment Scheme. This is the first time that a capital investment scheme in the agriculture sector has been directed to primarily support women farmers. I am confident that there will be a broad uptake of the scheme. There are many women across Ireland involved in the full time management and operation of their farms and we must continue to support and encourage them in every way we can.”
Minister Heydon said:
“Women have always been central to farm enterprises across the generations, but often in roles that are not visible or sufficiently recognised. Establishing a dedicated TAMS scheme is one of the measures we have introduced to correct that imbalance and ensure greater representation by women as farm holders. Farm safety is a central part of the scheme also and it is a good opportunity for them to invest in safe and efficient buildings and facilities for their enterprises.”
(i) The objective of the Scheme is to provide an incentive to women farmers to upgrade their agricultural buildings and equipment by providing them with an increased level of support to meet the considerable capital costs associated with the establishment of their enterprises.
(ii) To promote gender equality, employment, growth, generational renewal, social inclusion and local development in rural areas by supporting the participation of women in farming. Access to land in Ireland is quite limited with transfers primarily arising through inheritance. This new incentive for women will encourage farmers to consider female relatives as a successor or partner in the farm enterprise.
(iii) To improve competitiveness and contribute to the improvement of agricultural incomes.
This Scheme is one of a suite of innovative measures included to improve gender equality in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan.
The CSO Labour Force Survey 2019 showed that 13% of workers in the primary agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were female. For 2020, the figure was 15%, the highest since 2010. The CSO’s 2016 Farm Structure Survey recorded 71,700 women working on farms, of which less than one quarter (16,100) were farm holders. The new CAP Regulations place particular focus on promoting the participation of women in the socio-economic development of rural areas, with special attention to farming. Member States are required to strengthen their capacity in gender mainstreaming and in the collection of sex disaggregated data.
The launch of the scheme follows the successful launch of the standalone Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) with a ring-fenced ceiling of €90,000, the Animal Welfare and Nutrient Storage Scheme, the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme, the Organic Capital Investment Scheme, the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme with a ring-fenced ceiling of €40,000, the Dairy Equipment Scheme, the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme, the Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme, and the Farm Safety Scheme.
A detailed list of the eligible investments is detailed at Annex B of the scheme Terms and Conditions. All Department Structural Specifications and notices relevant to this Scheme can be accessed on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine website at: TAMS - Farm Building and Structures Specifications.
Grant aid will only be paid on approved, completed, and eligible expenditure and shall be paid at the rate of 60% up to the applicable maximum investment ceiling of €90,000 per holding. Multiple applications per tranche are permissible. However, the minimum amount of investment which is eligible for approval under this Scheme is €2,000 per application.
An eligible woman farmer in TAMS 3 means a person who is more than 18 and less than 67 years of age at the time of submitting the application, is registered as ‘female’ on DAFM’s Corporate Customer Management (CCM) system, possesses adequate occupational skills and competence, and has control and is managing an agricultural holding.
In the case of a Woman Farmer farming with others, a declaration is required that the woman farmer exercises effective and long-term control over the partnership or legal person in terms of decisions related to management, benefits and financial risks either solely or jointly together with other members of the partnership. A copy of this Declaration is at Annex K. A woman farmer can only qualify for one holding or entity under this scheme.
The applicant must be named on herd number for the holding - the herd must have a BPS application in year 2022 - and be able to demonstrate management and control of the holding.
Where the reference year requirements are not met, applicants must have completed one of the courses listed in Annex J of the scheme terms and conditions, or an equivalent course on or before the date of lodgement of an application for support or, at the latest, completed within 36 months from the date of issue of department approval to commence works. Where this deadline for completion of the educational requirements is not respected, grant aid will be paid at the standard rate of 40%.
Queries of a technical nature relating to the specifications should be submitted by email to the following email address tams@agriculture.gov.ie
Annex G of the scheme Terms and Conditions lists the contact phone numbers for technical queries.