There will not be a next generation of farmers if we fail to make the sector more viable and attractive to young people.

That is the warning from Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North West and chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food Aindrias Moynihan.

The comments come ahead of the Interparliamentary Conference on Securing the Future of Farming in Dublin this weekend.

The event, chaired by Deputy Moynihan, will bring together decision makers from across Europe to discuss generational renewal, women in agriculture and food security.

The event is part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Conference

Deputy Moynihan told Agriland that the conference comes at a crucial period for agriculture across Europe.

"This is at a key time for the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that we're bringing together parliamentarians from right across different EU states and get them talking about how they can encourage younger people and more women into farming," he said.

The first session will focus on policies regarding women and generational renewal in farming, across Europe.

Panelists will include Esther de Lange, head of the cabinet of EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen and Sinéad McPhillips, secretary general of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Irish MEP Maria Walsh, a member of the AGRI Committee ofthe EU Parliament, will also address the conference.

The second session will examine some examples of best practice from across Europe.

The final session will discuss the lived experience of generational renewal and the involvement of women in agriculture.

Each of the sessions will be followed by a debate and comments from the floor.

Deputy Moynihan hopes the conference will ensure delegates go back to their own parliaments from "an informed position" after they see the challenges and opportunities firsthand.

"The key thing is to learn from one another and to make sure that as the new CAP is being prepared, those concepts or those problems feed into it directly at a very important time.

"So that they're front and centre and not kind of in any way an afterthought," he said.

Farming

Deputy Moynihan said the future of Irish agriculture and the country's food security depends on generational renewal.

He said the gathering provides an important opportunity to agree practical solutions to encourage more young people into farming.

"Irish farming has a proud history, but we would be fools to take its future for granted.

"The figures are very worrying. Just one in twenty Irish farm holders is under the age of 35, while the average age of a farm holder is almost 60.

"Nearly four in ten are aged 65 or over. If we fail to attract and retain a new generation of farmers, we risk not only the future of Irish agriculture but also our long-term food security," he said.