A senator has expressed “worry” that if “radical action” isn’t taken now to ensure farming is viable for young people, Ireland will continue to see “flight from the land”.
Speaking in the Seanad this week, Malcolm Byrne said that while he accepts the government has “significantly increased the budgetary spending on agriculture and has introduced a number of small schemes and various tax measures”, they don’t go far enough to address some of the challenges being faced.
“In respect of the age profile of those involved in farming, over 55% are aged over 55, whereas only 5% are under the age of 35,” the Fianna Fáil senator said.
“In its Irish Farm Report, published last month, IFAC found that 71% of the farmers it surveyed had not yet identified a successor, and one-third of them cited the fact they believed the farm they were farming was no longer viable.
“Let us put that into context by looking at careers or professions with similar numbers. Taking the public service, for example, if 55% of Gardaí or teachers were over 55 and only 5% aged under 35, it would be a major crisis.
“For any other business, or indeed the civil or public service, that kind of age disparity would represent a major crisis. We are now facing a significant crisis. It requires radical measures to address it.”
‘Farming is a multigenerational activity’
The senator said that greater levels of educational supports for young farmers must be looked at, along with ensuring the financial supports are there for farming to be viable.
“We need to look at mentoring schemes. We also need to look at the retirement schemes that are in place to ensure they are in the best interests of farm families,” senator Byrne continued.
“I have spoken to many young farmers and they have often told me it is not just that they have to support their own families on the farm but also they often have to support their parents. Farming is a multigenerational activity.
“As with all of farming, the biggest challenge is around the question of income levels.
“The issue is how to make farming attractive as a career. Farmers have no problem with working long hours, but the difficulty is that while we are seeing increased productivity, we are not seeing increased profitability.”
‘Flight from the land’
“When there are so many other options for young people coming from rural and farming backgrounds, there is less of an incentive to take over the farm and engage in food production,” the senator continued.
“I worry that if we do not take radical action now, we are going to continue to see the flight from the land.
“We are going to see fewer and fewer young people engage in farming and seek to take over the family farm.
“As we have seen, the challenge we will face will be that the age profile of those who are farming will continue to increase.”
Anticipating and managing risk
Minister of State at the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Malcolm Noonan said that the challenge of generational renewal is widely recognised at both national and EU levels – and that it is “about anticipating and managing risk”.
“This challenge is not unique to Ireland because there are similar statistics throughout the EU. Generational renewal has been cited as one the key objectives of CAP,” deputy Noonan said.
“At national level, the Programme for Government states that we must nurture and protect the generational nature of Irish farming by providing opportunities for new farmers and producers to enter the sector in a financially viable way.
“There are a number of significant taxation measures available to young farmers. To assist succession, there is agricultural relief from capital acquisitions tax, retirement relief from capital gains tax and stamp duty exemptions on transfers of land.”
Ensuring a future in farming the land
However, senator Byrne said that the challenge that must be examined relates to the question of what constitutes success – “I am not saying that there are no schemes in place”.
“If we are looking at 2030, will we have sufficient numbers of young people involved and engaged in farming to ensure that it is a viable activity?” Byrne asked.
“My problem is that while the schemes we have are very helpful, I do not believe we are being radical enough. Are we seeking to ensure that farming will remain viable?
“We need to look at a forum on the future of farming with a very specific focus on how we can engage with young people. We are tinkering around at the edges but if we look at the trends and what is happening there are serious questions on whether farming can remain a viable activity for many young people.”