Members of the Agricultural Consultants’ Association (ACA) are set to call for better supports for the farm advisory sector from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) at its annual general meeting (AGM) today (Thursday, March 23).
The ACA conference is taking place in the Midlands Park Hotel in Co. Laois, where representatives from a number of DAFM divisions, as well as Minister Charlie McConalogue himself, will be present.
According to the association, the services its consultants provide to farmers around the country will ultimately help Ireland meet its climate targets, and the department should be supporting them to do that.
It stated that close to 70% of the 46,000 applications to the Agri-Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES) came from the ACA network, while 70% of applications for the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) also came through member consultants.
This shows that the ACA has facilitated a huge increase in the number of farmers participating in government schemes designed to tackle climate change, it said in a statement.
Speaking at the meeting, ACA president Noel Feeney said the association will highlight the “hugely important role” of ACA members in delivering farm advisory services.
“Increased progress in this area is essential if Ireland is to achieve its environmental, sustainability and climate mitigation targets.
“All farmers must have equal access to the latest research findings and will need advisory support to implement necessary changes at farm level,” he added.
The ACA will also call for the “immediate introduction” of an Agricultural Knowledge Innovation Systems (AKIS) group, which would be led and governed by the DAFM.
“Knowledge sharing will address the untapped opportunities of encompassing 95,000 farmers outside the public advisory service to all the latest publicly funded information and research,” said the association.
“With a joined up approach between the DAFM and all farm advisory stakeholders, 55,000 ACA farmer clients can be included immediately in the work it has underway.
“There remain, however, 40,000 farmers that do not use a private or public advisor, and these farmers must be included in an agreed policy framework,” it added.
“When the government embraces the private advisory sector, more farmers are empowered to participate in schemes and programmes which create a more sustainable agriculture industry in Ireland,” concluded Feeney.