The recently announced partnership between Coillte and UK asset management company Gresham House will disrupt land access for young farmers, according to Macra.
The agreement, which was announced on Friday, January 6, will see the roll out of what Coillte and Gresham House refer to as the ‘Irish Strategic Forestry Fund’.
The fund will see the purchase of land for the development of forestry.
Liam Hanrahan, the chairperson of Macra’s Agricultural Affairs Committee, said that such a partnership “is not the correct approach for the expansion of forestry in Ireland”.
According to Hanrahan, the fund will have a negative impact on generational renewal and access to land for young farmers.
“The lack of generational renewal is the biggest threat to Irish agriculture and the consequences of an [UK] investment fund putting further pressure on an already highly inflated land market will have major consequences for land mobility and access to land for young farmers,” he commented.
“This will put further pressure on land prices and the ability of young farmers to access the finances required,” Hanrahan added.
“The [European] Commission already observed a lack of direct support in addressing access to land for young farmers to achieve generational renewal [in Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy – CAP – Strategic Plan].
“This investment fund, which will compete with young farmers for land, will have a major impact on the viability of young and new entrant farmers and further calls into question Ireland’s commitment to achieving meaningful generational renewal and supporting young farmers to access land,” the Macra agricultural affairs chair said.
He questioned if the development is in line with strategic objectives of CAP from the EU’s perspective.
“The greatest restrictions for young farmers continue to be access to land and access to finance. This fund will exacerbate the situation for young farmers, and is a backwards step for land mobility in Ireland,” according to Hanrahan.
He added: “We are making a bad situation worse and we need to rethink the approach.”