The exclusion of a dairy equipment scheme from the replacement for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) under the draft Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) consultation document is an “insult to the dairy sector”, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed.
Commenting, IFA National Dairy Committee chairman Stephen Arthur said the exclusion of the dairy equipment scheme from TAMS in the consultation document for the CAP strategic plan is “actively discriminating against the dairy sector”.
“We are insisting that it’s reinstated to support investment in our sector,” he said.
“The department is quick to forget the vital importance of the dairy sector to the rural economy. Our thriving growth in exports carried this country out of the recession – yet they are turning their backs on us now.”
The chairman noted that the Dairy Equipment Scheme is one of the most popular schemes within TAMS.
Since its introduction, over 7,800 farmers have received grant aid from the scheme amounting to over €56 million. This translates to total investment of over €120 million in dairy equipment on farms, he added.
“Dairy farmers need continued support to meet increasing demands in the marketplace,” Arthur stressed.
“The department has to make provisions for this vital scheme in the next CAP,” the chairman concluded.
As the timeline for the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) edges closer – with an expected start time for 2023 – the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has offered details of how the policy will be implemented in Ireland for agriculture and the environment. More on this can be found here.