The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has paid out around £92million in subsidies to nearly 4,200 farmers across Suffolk and Essex under the Single Payment Scheme, the agency says.

In Suffolk 2,461 farmers received a total of £50,688,312 while in Essex 1,732 farmers have been given £41,139,603 so far in the 2014 Single Payment Scheme window.

Meanwhile, 2,980 farmers from Norfolk have received £69,398,136.

The agency says it is two months ahead of its end of March target for payments.

Nationally, by January 28, the RPA had paid a total of £1.46billion to nearly 100,000 farmers in England. This equates to 98.4% of farmer eligible to claim and 97.3% of the total estimated fund value.

RPA planning and performance director John Carter said: “We are delighted with this performance but we will not be resting on our laurels.

“Our focus now is to ensure farmers who have not yet received their money are paid as soon as possible, while preparing for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), which replaces SPS for 2015.

“I would encourage farmers who want to get their BPS money as early as possible to register now, either online or by calling 03000 200 301. This applies to existing SPS customers who need to be aware that although their details will be transferred across, they still need to go in and register on the new service.”

For more information on the Rural Payments service visit www.gov.uk/ruralpayments or call the Rural Payments helpline on 03000 200 301.