Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan is “no longer fit for purpose” due to increasing costs for farmers, one farm organisation has said.
Ireland’s plan was officially accepted and adopted by the European Commission yesterday (Wednesday, August 31).
Responding to the approval of Ireland’s plan, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said that, due to the rapidly escalating costs of food production, the CAP plan, as it currently stands, will not deal with food security or farm incomes.
“As things stand, this CAP programme is no longer fit to deal with food security, nor is it fit to provide income security for food producers,” said ICSA president Dermot Kelleher.
Kelleher called on the government to detail how is it going to fund climate ambition and keep primary producers economically viable.
“This CAP, with its limited budget, cannot deliver on these dual goals,” Kelleher said.
He added: “Achieving tough climate targets is costly and if the government is serious about a just transition for farming, then now is the time to step forward with the financial supports that will keep farming businesses viable as they grapple with meeting climate targets.
“The fact is that the next CAP will further undermine the support for productive farmers in the beef, suckler and sheep sectors.
“That was bad enough two years ago, but today, escalating costs mean there is a disaster in the making for cattle and sheep farmers,” the ICSA president claimed.
Kelleher called for a detailed examination of how climate change mitigation in the agriculture sector is going to be funded.
“One thing is clear: The CAP is no longer fit to cover all the extra costs caused by input inflation and the potential costs in reducing emissions.
“Consumers have a limit on how much extra can be paid for food, but farmers also have a limit in terms of how much extra cost they can carry,” he added.