The Irish Grain Growers’ Group (IGGG) is demanding that convergence is set at a maximum of 85% in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In its CAP strategic plan submission to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the group said that CAP deals to date had failed the Irish tillage farmer and proof of this can be seen in the severe loss of tillage land over the years.
“Irish tillage has an output of €1.3 billion from just 7% of the land base with 11,000 jobs linked to the sector,” the group stated.
“Our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are extremely low (0.5t/ha CO2 equivalent/year) and any increase in the tillage area will help meet the agriculture sector’s absolute emissions targets, yet we find ourselves under the potential constraints of a new CAP reform,” IGGG added.
CAP
The group claimed that some of the current proposals, such as convergence and the Complementary Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS), have the potential to do the opposite of what this CAP is aiming to achieve.
In its submission to the DAFM, it called for:
- Maximum 85% convergence;
- Minimum CRISS;
- The Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) 7 to stay as crop diversification;
- GAEC 8 to ensure the same values as previous CAP, with the inclusion of additional areas;
- Break crop at 16% of claimed area for an extended diversification eco scheme, with more break crops to be included;
- A reduced nitrogen (N) eco-scheme for tillage farmers;
- A tillage specific scheme under the Pillar II Agri-Environmental Climate Measure (AECM);
- Carbon ownership to be defined;
- Clarity on the €66,000 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) limit in relation to leased land.
The IGGG said it believed the current proposals will not target the active farmer, aid biodiversity or reduce climate change.
Convergence
The biggest threat to the future of the active full-time tillage farmer is convergence, the group stated.
It said the vast majority of farmers are relying on their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payment for the bulk of their income.
“At present, with the current structures, farmers would potentially be financially better off leasing their land. This will happen further with convergence.
“Farmers will leave full-time farming pushing more farmers into ‘armchair farming’ or part-time farming whilst creating fewer, much larger farms,” the IGGG claimed.
Under the proposed eco schemes, the group said tillage farmers will be further impacted by convergence as they will be paid the same amount per hectare but will have more conditions and regulations to meet.
IGGG said a way must be found under Pillar II to target money at the tillage sector to counteract the negative impact of convergence.
It also said that there was “little or no value” placed on work done by tillage farmers through greening over the past eight years.
IGGG said that mandatory crop rotation would be extremely difficult as there are limited markets for many crops and Irish weather conditions can also impact planting and harvesting.
The group proposed that the three crop rule should be increased to bring more farmers back into tillage.
Eco schemes
IGGG said the proposals did not include a reduced nitrogen (N) measure to suit tillage farmers, adding that 74kg/ha is unworkable on most tillage farms.
It said a crop specific option could be an “attractive measure”, if protein crops were included.
The group said it was vitally important that eco scheme payments remain with active farmers and “avoid leakage to the landowner in leasing situations”.
It added that any redistributed CRISS funding must be targeted at the active farmers.
“It is illogical to think that a leaser would potentially benefit from this model and not be actively farming,” IGGG said.
CAP Pillar II
IGGG said there needs to be a tillage specific programme under Pillar II to reward farmers for being more environmentally friendly.
It suggested a scheme with a ceiling of €15,000/tillage farmer to DAFM.
The group said the budget for the successful Straw Incorporation Measure needs to be expanded to a minimum of €350/ha and the maximum land area that a farmer can apply for raised to 60ha.
IGGG said it supported the DAFM proposal around entitlements in principle, but wants to see a clawback system on long-term leases.
It also proposed that any leased in entitlements that go back to the landowner are not subject to the €66,000 limit in the BISS.