Government Must Halt Decline Of Ireland’s Tillage Sector – IFA
IFA Grain Committee Chairman Mark Browne has told Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed that the Government must halt the continued decline of the Irish tillage sector. Since 2008, the area planted to the main cereal crops has reduced by 67,500ha, which represents a drop of over 20%.
This stark reality confirms that tillage must be considered as a vulnerable sector in Irish agriculture. The Chairman emphasised how the current drought crisis has underlined the strategic importance of the arable sector within the broader agricultural industry and a reminder that it underpins Ireland’s €12.6 billion valued livestock, dairy, drinks and mushroom export sectors.
Mark Browne was speaking at a meeting with the Minister, along with South Leinster Regional Chairman Tom Short and a delegation of members of the IFA National Grain Committee.
Tom Short stressed to the Minister that although there has been a reasonable start to the 2018 harvest of winter crops, the situation with spring crops is totally different and he highlighted the potential crisis in waiting. “At best, yields are predicted to be only average due to the wet cold spring and subsequent drought conditions, while it would appear that grain and straw volume will be poor particularly along the east and south east coasts.”
In relation to the current drought crisis, Tom Short said that tillage farmers are willing to help by planting catch crops to alleviate the fodder deficit. However, due to the high establishment costs of these crops, he said the Minister should introduce incentive measures to encourage tillage farmers to grow such crops. Tillage farmers who plant catch crops under GLAS need a derogation in relation to the choice of crops and to be able to conserve by October 1st.
On CAP 2020, Mark Browne impressed on the minister the critical importance of an increased overall CAP budget as campaigned for by IFA. On the tillage sector, he emphasised that these farmers had been disproportionately affected by the current CAP due to convergence and greening issues and any continuation of these types of measures would only contribute to the further decline of the arable area in this country.
Along with an increase in the protein payment, the Chairman called for other targeted coupled supports to be considered for Pillar I in the proposed CAP regulations. Regarding Pillar II, he said greater flexibility was needed in farm schemes so that tillage farmers qualify for higher grant rate payments. This is particularly relevant in relation to the TAMS and GLAS schemes. Under the proposed new ANC scheme, tillage farmers must be eligible for payments on land that qualifies for an ANC payment in the Review of areas.
Other issued raised with Minister Creed included support for renewables, quality assurance testing of imported grain, low cost loans, origin green and research on native grown feedstuffs.
The IFA Grain Chairman concluding by acknowledging the work the minister undertook on the 3-crop rule derogation for this year but said that tillage farming has become a vulnerable sector and urgent political action is needed at local and EU level to protect it.
