IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

THE Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was committed to using electronic services, such as the Rural Portal and APHIS Online, "to ease the regulatory burden on farmers," Ian Pearson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Agriculture and Rural Development, has said. The Minister reaffirmed his commitment to developing electronic services during a visit to Greenmount Campus, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise. The Minister was visiting the college to discuss ongoing developments of the Rural Portal, APHIS on-line and e-government.

The Minister said: "Farming is not a nine to five job and so it is important that the Government provides services when and where farmers need them - and the use of online services provides such flexibility.

"DARD is at the forefront of e-Government in Northern Ireland. It launched Northern Ireland's first real time transactional service, APHIS Online, through the Portal more than 18 months ago and with some 2,000 farmers now using this service it has been a real e-government success."

He said that DARD was also exploring developments that would permit approved agents to electronically register births of calves on behalf of NI farmers.

"This is being developed and tested as a pilot project with Holstein UK. It is an important step in bridging the 'digital divide', allowing farmers to gain the benefits of e-Government without having to have direct access to the Internet."

Mr Pearson said that he was a firm believer in the benefits of electronic services for farmers "and will continue to support further developments in this area."

During the visit, the Minister viewed enhancements to the website. In April 2003, DARD announced a new facility available on the Rural Portal website - www.ruralni.gov.uk - to simplify and speed up the approval process for ordering cattle ear tags through approved ear tag manufacturers or their designated agents.

Further developments to the web site launched in June include facilities to:

• view and download historical herd lists.
• view post mortem details of slaughtered animals
• provide advance movement notification (to market or abattoir)

In addition to supporting farmers in complying with regulations, the portal also has a facility to assist farm businesses in identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

Development of an updated on-line benchmarking application on the Rural Portal for dairy, beef and sheep businesses is nearing completion. This use of benchmarking is a key area highlighted within the Vision Report.

Mr Pearson said: "I see benchmarking as a key step in the development of any business and I will continue to support efforts of farmers in Northern Ireland to develop competitive businesses. I am delighted to see the enhancement of on-line services to facilitate benchmarking."

Quelle: Farming Life