This week’s episode of Farmland focusses on the official approval of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by government, as well as what Budget 2023 will mean for farmers in vulnerable sectors, such as drystock, tillage and sheep.
In the programme, which will go live at 7:00p.m today (Tuesday, October 11), Tadhg Buckley, chief economist with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) joins Agriland’s Aisling O’Brien to share his analysis on both the oncoming CAP and the recently announced budget.
He outlines that the new CAP will contain “significant asks of farmers” who are looking to access the Basic Payment Scheme in comparison to the previous CAP, and says it may be particularly harsh on sectors that rely on direct payments.
Speaking about these “vulnerable sectors”, Buckley states that these payments can account for up to 20% of some farmers’ incomes, and adds that the agricultural minister has no choice but to address that.
He also discusses the 10% concrete levy, which has been an ongoing sticking point in relation to the construction of modern slurry storage facilities, an activity that was promoted in Budget 2023.
Later in Farmland
Later in this week’s episode of Farmland, economist Ciarán Fitzgerald also shares his opinions on the topics, and discusses the industry’s messaging around climate change.
He tells O’Brien that he believes that the CAP can be a strong instrument but that its flaw is in its lack of flexibility.
He says that in relation to the occurrence of geopolitical events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the CAP can be slow to react, and adds that if policies are not up to date, they won’t work.
The episode will be available this evening (Tuesday, October 11, at 7:00p.m) on the Agriland platform. All episodes can be streamed via the award-winning digital platform agriland.ie, and links to the programme will also be available across Agriland social media platforms.
All episodes of Farmland can be viewed by clicking here. The Farmland podcast is also available to download or stream on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts.