IT Systems

Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS)

According to the Council Regulation 1782/2003 (Chapter 4, Art. 17), each MS shall set up an Integrated Administration and Control System in order to manage the direct payments. The technical implementation of IACS is outlined in the Commission Regulation 796/2004 and refers to the identification of farmers, identification and registration of payments entitlements, control system as regards cross-compliance etc.

ARMA started implementation of the IACS system in June 2001. Pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 25 July 2001 on the national register system of agricultural holdings and animals kept for farming purposes and on the amendments to certain acts, the Polish IACS system is composed of:

register of animals kept for farming purposes,
register of direct payments,
documentation referring to the register of agricultural holdings and to the granted and paid direct payments,
documentation referring to controls conducted by the Agency and concerning the observance of regulations covering direct payments.

The system additionally includes registers of:

cattle producers,
producers of ovine animals,
producers of caprine animals.

The IACS System includes several subsystems, such as the Land Parcel Identification System, the Animal Identification and Registration System, the Aid Applications Subsystem (composed of Area Payment Subsystem and Rural Development Programme Subsystem).

Land Parcel Identification System

ARMA is responsible for keeping and updating the Land Parcel Identification system, which is established on the basis of maps, land registry documents and other cartographic references. Computerised geographical information system (GIS) techniques are used, which preferably include aerial or spatial imagery. The LPIS system functions on the basis of a database on reference parcels allowing to locate agricultural parcels, which are declared by farmers as entitled to direct payments.The system checks the declared area as to its eligibility (i.e. area eligible to payments under a given assistance scheme) and control as to overlapping of declarations for specific agricultural parcels.

Practically, this means that all fields are numbered and their images (taken by satellites) or ortophotos (taken by airplanes) are digitised. All these images are included in a geographical information system, which also contains the boundaries of the reference parcels and their (eligible) area. The limits of the reference parcels are also visible in the field if they correspond to natural boundaries, such streams, forests or roads.

Animal Identification and Registration System (AIRS)

ARMA keeps a computerized database of tagged farm animals, i.e. cattle, ovine, caprine and porcine animals, which is called Animal Identification and Registration System. The objective of this system is to ensure the traceability of animals and thus to ensure food safety and gain full access to the EU animal products market. Moreover, the IRZ database serves as the reference base for determining the gross LSU (livestock unit) coefficient, indispensable for establishing the amount of complementary direct payment to the areas of crops destined for feed (animal premium) and for agri-environmental programmes.

The Animal Identification and Registration System includes:

The Central Database is an extranet system, interoperable with the Integrated Administration and Control System, based on ARMA's territorial structures (Regional Offices and Poviat Bureaus). Information recorded in the Animal Identification and Registration System concerns:

animal holders (register of producers),
animals and their place of stay (animal location register),
animal movement (registration of events concerning animals).