The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has expressed disappointment with the capacity and payment rates that will be offered under the upcoming Agri Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES).

Speaking on the latest episode of Farmland, Eddie Punch, general secretary of the ICSA said that those in the agricultural industry are at the forefront of biodiversity and green efforts and deserve better.

The organisation is concerned that many farmers will be left out of the scheme, due to its capacity of 50,000, 20,000 of which are ringfenced for farmers operating in designated 'cooperation project zones'.

Watch the full interview with Eddie Punch by clicking the video below.

Punch said that the scheme, which will replace the current Green Low-carbon Agri-environmental Scheme (GLAS), will see many applicants competing for the 'general' payment.

He said:

Comparing ACRES to the former Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS), Punch pointed out that REPS had an original capacity of 60,000, and that when it was halted, 62,000 farmers were operating under it.

The ICSA is also concerned about the payments that will be offered, given rising input and labour costs and inflation rates. Punch outlined that these environmental schemes may be costly to participants.

"So we think that the money is looking very weak and yet there isn’t enough places in the scheme," he explained.

Describing the scheme as "a complete experiment", Punch said that while everyone hopes that ACRES will be a success, many are still doubtful that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) "really knows whether this will work or not".

Punch also asked how competitive the ACRES programme will be in comparison to other options that many farmers are now considering, such as off-farm income streams.

"Farmers have to make a living the same as everyone else and I have a big concern that the CAP reform in its totality has lost sight of the fact that a euro today is not the same as a euro two years ago."

Punch added that he feels politicians in Ireland and across the EU must focus on achieving a balance between creating vibrant, rural communities achieving food and energy security and managing environmental goals.