This article is from page 4 of the 2013-09-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE North Clare economy could be set for an annual boost of more than € 3 million if the Burren Farming for Conservation Project is rolled out across all of the regions 600 farmers.
Funding for the project, which currently totals € 1 million for 160 conservation farmers, is due for regeneration in 2015. The Burren made history at the weekend by becoming the first location in Ireland to win the European Diploma of Protected Ar- eas Award and it is thought that this award could prompt the full roll-out of the Burren Farming for Conservation Project across the Burren.
“This is awarded to areas of high environmental value that are also been managed to a very high standard. It is a very prestigious award, and this the first time that it has been received by any region in Ireland,” said Brendan Dunford of the Burren Farming for Conservation Project.
“A lot of people worked to get this award, everyone made a contribution. The awards are not as important as the work on the ground. If you get the work on the ground done properly then the awards will follow.
“The real significance of the award is probably for the future of conservation farming in the Burren. This is a real signal that what we are going here is working. It is delivering in a cost effective way for the tax payers; it is popular among the farmers and it is producing real environmental gains. We don’t want that to stop, in fact we want to increase it.
“This programme really should be rolled out right across the Burren and not just for the areas we are at the moment.”
Funding for the Burren Farming for Conservation Project comes from unspent Single Farm Payment finding, which is redistributed by the Department of Agriculture.
“This money goes to farmers who employ other people to help make quantifiable environmental improvements on their farm. They shop locally for equipment and supplies, so there is a huge recycling of that money,” continued Mr Dunford.
“The funding has a benefit to the North Clare economy which is far in excess of € 1 million.”