The possibility of a financial support package for young farmers in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to assist in the purchase of land, has been highlighted by the vice president of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), Thomas Duffy.
Speaking at the Macra na Feirme Young Farmer Development Group (YFDG) Walk and Talk event in Co. Roscommon yesterday, Tuesday, August 10, the former Macra president gave an overview of how the CAP reform is shaping up.
Duffy outlined: “There are two interesting changes proposed to TAMS [Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme] in the new CAP. At the moment, TAMS can only be secured for equipment. It’s not available on land.
“Now, it potentially will become available on land – if the Irish government decides to include supports for young farmers to purchase land.”
He explained that support could be provided for farmers to buy land assuming one of the two criteria are met:
- A qualified young farmer is buying the land;
- The land is being bought by a farmer (young or old) for environmental purposes.
Young farmers or environmental purposes
A Macra member at the farm walk expressed concern that ‘environmental purposes’ would include planting land in forestry.
However, the CEJA vice president said this would be “unlikely” and suggested that ‘environmental purposes’ may include buying land to grow an energy crop or install solar panels.
Commenting on how the CAP reform is shaping up for young farmers, Duffy said: “3% of the national envelope has been allocated to young farmers under the new CAP which is a positive because under the last CAP it was a maximum of 2%”.
According to Duffy, CEJA got the move over the line “after hard lobbying”.
The Macra farm walk took place yesterday evening on the farm of Diarmuid Murray near Knockcroghery, Co. Roscommon.
At the event, Diarmuid gave an overview of his dairy calf-to-beef enterprise.
Stay tuned to Agriland for a detailed update on this week’s Roscommon Macra farm walk.