Provision of support

Information note on aid to support the delivery of Teagasc knowledge transfer and information actions in accordance with the provisions of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 702/2014 (OJ L 193 of 01.07.2014)

Provision of support - knowledge transfer and information actions

Teagasc provides support in the form of knowledge transfer and information actions (as detailed below) to SMEs (adult farmers and young entrants) active in primary agricultural production in accordance with Article 21 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014).

Teagasc

Teagasc is a national body established under the “Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act”, 1988, to provide education, training, and advisory services in agriculture and food, and to undertake and promote agricultural research and development.

What support (knowledge transfer and information actions) does Teagasc provide in the Agriculture sector?

• Training

  Teagasc provides quality assured vocational training and skills programmes to adult farmers, new entrants and work-based learners active in agriculture, food, horticulture, forestry and equine sectors. Programmes are designed to meet the development needs of farmers, growers and those seeking a career in the agri-food sector.

• Formal education

  Provides formal agricultural education training to young entrants to farming and deliver skills training actions in part-time or distance education formats at regional and local level to include on-going training and up skilling in areas such as technical efficiency, IT, business, environmental, sustainable farming and pesticide use, food safety and EU cross compliance requirements.

• Adult courses

  Provide a comprehensive suite of short courses and continuous professional development courses for adult farmers enabling them to respond to environmental, cross compliance and sustainable farming requirements, food assurance issues, food industry, health and safety, business and technology and to diversify their farm business.

• Horticulture

  Deliver education and skills training to horticultural producers including fulltime vocational programmes for young producers and targeted short courses and accredited training for those already working in the sector. Provide students with a firm grounding in technical skills in areas of landscape design and construction, sport turf management, nursery stock production and food crop production.

• Forestry

  Provide forestry operators with a sound understanding of the fundamental knowledge and essential skills required for those involved in forestry operations.

• Food safety training

  Provision of specialized technical training to the food processing sector covering topics such as food processing technologies, food safety, quality management systems, food innovation and new product development.

• Equine Studies

  Teagasc provides accredited equine courses to encourage and assist the uptake of knowledge and skills relating to the sport horse industry including stud farms, training yards and equestrian centres.

Teagasc Organised Events

Teagasc organises a number of public events to promote successful knowledge transfer including:

• Clinics with farmers;
• National and regional conference, workshop network meetings;
• Group meetings, farm walks and consultations;
• Initiation and support of various development initiatives;
• Wide range of publications;
• Website, e-news and social media.

Teagasc General Information Actions

A broad range of communication technologies is used to achieve knowledge transfer including:

• Group activities and one-to-one farm visits;
• Public events including conferences, seminars, farm events etc;
• Publications including technical reports, newsletters etc;
• Newsletters and web;
• Short training courses and study tours.

Objective of the measure?

The overall objective of the knowledge transfer measure is to educate and train young entrants to farming and adult farmers.

Incentive effect

In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 702/2014, this measure will only apply to aid that has an incentive effect. Aid will be considered to have an incentive effect where the SME (adult farmers and young entrants) submits a written application seeking the knowledge transfer and information action services to assist them in improving the efficiency of their farm enterprise, allocating resources more efficiently and adopting new technologies and best practice. The application for the aid shall contain at least the following information:

• Applicant’s name and size;
• Description of the services (knowledge transfer and information action) sought, including its start and end dates;
• Location of the service;
• List of eligible costs;
• Type of aid i.e. knowledge transfer and information action and amount of public funding needed for the service provided.

What costs are covered?

In accordance with Article 21(3) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014), the aid shall cover the following eligible costs:

• The costs of organising the vocational training, skills acquisition actions, including training courses, workshops and coaching, demonstration activities or information actions;
• The costs for travel, accommodation and per diem expenses of the participants;
• The cost of the provision of replacement services during the absence of the participants.

What conditions are attached?

The aid will not involve any direct payments to the SMEs active in primary agricultural production. All payments will be made in accordance with Article 21(5) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014).

In accordance with Article 21(7) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014) the knowledge transfer and information actions shall be accessible to all eligible SMEs, including members of producer groups and organisations active in primary agricultural production, based on objectively defined conditions.

In accordance with Article 1(5) of Commission Regulation (EU) 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014) aid shall be excluded in favour of undertakings subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission Decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market.

The knowledge transfer and information action services will be provided by appropriately trained and qualified staff in accordance with Article 21(6) of Commission Regulation (EU) 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014).

What is the maximum level of aid?

The aid intensity shall be limited to 100% of the eligible costs in accordance with Article 21.8 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 702/2014 (OJ L193 of 01.07.2014).

How to avail of support?

Farmers seeking more information on any of the services detailed above should contact their local Teagasc office.