G/AG/N/GBR/4  
 
6 April 2021  
(21-2827) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Agriculture  Original: English  
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
The following submission, dated  6 April  2021, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of 
the United Kingdom . The notification concerns new or modified domestic support measures exempt 
from reduction ( Table DS:2). 
 
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  Table DS:2  
DOMESTIC SUPPORT: UNITED KINGDOM  
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction  
 
 
(1)  FULL TITLE OF MEASURE:  
Coupled Support for Protein Crops.  
(2)  DOMESTIC LEGISLATION REFERENCE:  
Secondary legislation has been brought forward under the powers of the UK Agriculture 
Act 2020 to introduce this scheme. The Direct Payments to Farmers (Simplifications) 
Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 was ap proved by resolution of the Northern Ireland 
Assembly on 22  February 2021 and came into force on 25 February 2021.  
(3)  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MEASURE WITH REFERENCE TO CRITERIA:  
This measure is not subject to reduction commitments as it is consistent wit h Blue Box criteria 
according to Article 6.5. (a) Direct payments under production -limiting programmes shall not 
be subject to the commitment to reduce domestic support if: (i) such payments are based on 
fixed area and yields.    
The Protein Crops Payment P ilot Scheme will be a stand -alone scheme and applicants will not 
necessarily have to be claiming Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) to be eligible. However, on land 
used to grow protein crops, the same applicant may claim both BPS and the Protein Crops 
Payment.   BPS is a continuation of the scheme that operated under the EU Common Agricultural 
Policy (CAP).  
Initially, this will be a 2 year pilot scheme for Scheme Year 2021 and 2022 and will be reviewed 
following the end of the first year.  The territorial extent of  this scheme is Northern Ireland only.  
It is proposed that the payment rate will be GBP 330/ha.   This rate will result in a gross margin 
for protein crops which is comparable to that for other cereal crops. The total area eligible for 
payment under the Pilot Scheme will be capped at 1,000 hectares (ha). In 2020, 153 ha of 
Protein Crops were grown in Northern Ireland.  
If more than 1,000 ha are determined as eligible, a linear scaleback will be applied to the 
determined Protein Crop Payment area to reduce it to 1,000 ha. Payment will be made on the 
scaled back area.    
The maximum budget for the scheme will be GBP 330,000 per year. This will be funded from 
the 2021/22 budget for direct payments and amounts to 0.11% of the direct payments budget.  
The minimum claim size is 0.3 ha in total (the minimum field size remains at 0.1 ha, as for 
BPS). Any claims submitted for areas less than 0.3 ha will not be considered to be eligible for 
the Protein Crop Payment.  
For this scheme, eligible protein crops are crops cov ered by land use codes NF1, NF2, NF3, NF4 
and NF5 (see below for more detail).  
• Spring Peas (feed pea, mange tout, marrow fat pea, snap pea, snow pea, vining pea) 
(usage code NF1);  
• Spring Field Beans (includes broad beans, field beans, tic beans) (usage c ode NF2);  
• Winter Field Beans (includes broad beans, field beans, tic beans) (usage code NF3);  
• Spring Sweet Lupins (usage code NF4);  G/AG/N/GBR/4  
 
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  • Winter Sweet Lupins (usage code NF5).  
The forage crops clover, alfalfa and lucerne are not eligible for aid under this Pi lot Scheme.  
Applications will be made through the 2021 Scheme year Single Application Form.  
It is intended that payments under the Scheme will be paid alongside the Basic Payment 
Scheme from October 2021.  
(4)  COST OF MEASURE:  
The maximum budget for the scheme will be GBP 330,000 per year.  
(5)  DATE OF ENTRY INTO EFFECT:  
1 March 2021.  
(6)  PERIOD OF APPLICATION:  
This will be a 2 year pilot scheme for Scheme Year 2021 and 2022.  
(7)  PRODUCTS TO PRINCIPALLY BENEFIT (IF ANY INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT(S)):  
Protein Crops:  
• Spring Peas (feed pea, mange tout, marrow fat pea, snap pea, snow pea, vining pea);  
• Spring Field Beans (includes broad beans, field beans, tic beans);  
• Winter Field Beans (includes broad beans, field beans, tic bean s);  
• Spring Sweet Lupins;  
• Winter Sweet Lupins.  
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  Table DS:2  
DOMESTIC SUPPORT: UNITED KINGDOM  
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction  
 
(1)  FULL TITLE OF MEASURE:  
Future Farming Resilience Funding.  
(2)  DOMESTIC LEGISLATION REFERENCE:  
Agriculture Act 2020 – Section 1(2) in respect of business advisory support services  Natural 
Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 – Section 98 in respect of wellbeing support 
services.  
(3)  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MEASURE WITH REFERENCE TO CRITERIA:  
The support being provided will be business improvement advisory support services with an 
element of personal wellbeing support if required to farmers and land managers (participant s) 
who will be affected by the reductions in Direct Payments. Direct Payments is an area based 
annual payment scheme based on an entitlement system, whereby a farmer needs at least one 
hectare of eligible land to claim payment against each entitlement they  hold. The Department 
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will select third party support providers through 
a competitive tendering process, and those providers will receive grants from Defra to provide 
business and potentially wellbeing suppor t to the participants. This support will mainly be in 
the form of one -to-many workshops (either on -line or in person, dependant on restrictions at 
the time) followed by one -to-one support as required (again either in person or by 
electronic/telephony means ). Neither Defra nor the grant recipients (support providers) will 
provide any monetary support to participants.  The territorial application of this scheme is 
England only.  
The support in question will be provided through a publicly -funded government prog ramme i.e. 
the Future Farming Resilience Fund run by Defra. The funds will be used to provide only 
business advisory services and potentially wellbeing support services to farmers and land 
managers and therefore shall not have the effect of providing price  support to producers. 
It therefore meets the general criteria set out in paragraph 1 of Annex 2.  
The scheme falls under “General Services”, paragraph 2 (d) of Annex 2 – extension and 
advisory services, including the provision of means to facilitate the tr ansfer of information and 
the results of research to producers and consumers.  
Defra will have controls in place with grant recipients to ensure there shall be no payments to 
farmers under this scheme.  
The scheme therefore meets the requirement set out in p aragraph 2 of Annex 2 that the 
programme shall involve no direct payments to producers or processors and it therefore meets 
the policy -specific criteria and conditions applicable to this type of support under Annex 2 of 
the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.  
(4)  COST OF MEASURE:  
Up to GBP 9 million for 2021/22.    
(5)  DATE OF ENTRY INTO EFFECT:  
25 March 2021.    G/AG/N/GBR/4  
 
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  (6)  PERIOD OF APPLICATION:  
The project is expected to conclude by March 2022.    
(7)  PRODUCTS TO PRINCIPALLY BENEFIT (IF ANY INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT(S)):  
The support is not specific to an agricultural product.  
 
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