Control of support payments in agriculture.
How to administer and control support payments in agriculture? The answer to this seemingly difficult question is quite simple – IACS.
The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) is an information system developed to control and monitor supports in agriculture. It has been introduced in Croatia for the needs of the Paying Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development.
By introducing IACS, Croatia has gained access to a system that contains real data on the agricultural land situation and support payments. This data serves not only for administrative purposes but also for making analyses that help to shape and implement agricultural policy.
EU members use IACS to administer, monitor and control supports in agriculture, including direct payments and other measures under area-based schemes.
The system is comprised of three parts:
1. Agricultural Registers:
- Farm Register
- Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS)
- Livestock Register
- Vineyard & Olive Tree Register
- Integrated and Organic Farming Register
2. Direct payments: Application Submission, Administrative Control of Applications, Application Approval, On-the-spot Control, Remote Sensing, Cross Compliance
3. Rural development: Application Submission, Administrative Control of Applications, Application Approval, On-the-spot Control
In addition to these three parts, IACS also includes a reporting system.
The system deployment included:
- Development of software pursuant to the requirements set out in the EU Common Agricultural Policy
- Development and integration of the financial module for executing payments and providing reports to the EU bodies
- Review and upgrade of business processes regarding support payments
- Education of over 600 employees of Paying Agency for Agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Croatian Agricultural Agency and the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture on how to use the system and educating over 800 farmers on cross compliance criteria
- Preparation and implementation of an information campaign aimed at familiarising farmers and the public with the system and its benefits
Development of Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) for executing payments and providing reports to the EU bodies.
Adjustments in agriculture played a major role in Croatia’s accession to the EU and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy.
The project was financed by the EU IPA funds and was implemented by KING ICT in association with Croatian and international partners.
