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Good practice Imported

Protecting Farmland Pollinators — Ireland's Whole-Farm Scorecard Turns Pollinator Habitat into a Results-Based Payment

Ireland · Waterford · See the Ireland profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 58% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A 40-farm Irish pilot paid farmers for measured pollinator-habitat quality via a 19-action scorecard rather than fixed prescriptions; median farm scores rose 56% over three years and 31 of 40 farms improved, with results independently peer-reviewed.

25,696 -> 33,572 -> 40,211
Median whole-farm score (Year 1-3)
56%
Cumulative score increase (3 years)
31 of 40
Farms improving score
8,669
Pollinator survey records (Jul 2019-Aug 2022)
37
Bee species logged
57
Hoverfly species logged
Protecting Farmland Pollinators — Ireland's Whole-Farm Scorecard Turns Pollinator Habitat into a Results-Based Payment

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
National Biodiversity Data Centre (Ireland), EIP-AGRI, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Period
July 2019 – August 2022 (pilot, ongoing methodology)
Keywords
agriculture, pollinators, biodiversity monitoring, results-based agri-environment payments

Context

Most agri-environment schemes pay farmers for prescribed actions rather than ecological outcomes; Ireland's Protecting Farmland Pollinators (PFP) project tested paying 40 pilot farms for the quantity and quality of pollinator-friendly habitat delivered, scored on a 19-action scorecard.

Activities

Forty pilot farms (ten each of beef, dairy, mixed and tillage) were scored annually, earning 'Pollinator Points' setting their payment; the project also ran its own pollinator surveys 2019-2022, logging 8,669 records across 37 bee and 57 hoverfly species.

Results

The median whole-farm score rose 56% cumulatively over three years, with 31 of 40 farms improving their score and four more than tripling it, achieved without a reported negative effect on productivity.

Conclusions

The methodology has since fed into Ireland's national Results-Based Payment Schemes, though result-based schemes generally see lower farmer uptake than action-based ones.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — EIP-AGRI pilot funded under Ireland's 2014-2022 Rural Development Programme; per-farm payment levels not itemised in reviewed sources.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Pilot ran 2019-2022 (40 farms); methodology since incorporated into Ireland's national Results-Based Payment Schemes.
Staffing & skills
National Biodiversity Data Centre pilot coordinators, 40 participating farmers (10 each of beef, dairy, mixed, tillage)

Conditions for success

  • 19-action scorecard co-designed with farmers
  • results-based rather than prescription-based payment structure

Common failure modes

  • result-based schemes generally see lower farmer uptake than action-based ones due to uncertainty about earning points and the risk of a low-scoring year

Commonly funded by

LIFE Programme National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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