Farmers as well as programme participants benefit enormously from social farming, a Donegal dairy farmer stressed during a visit by Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, to his farm on the Inishowen peninsula last week.
William McLaughlin shared some of the many benefits for social farmers and their families at the gathering. He spoke of having new social connections and friendships with the participants, revelling in a real buzz around the farm and not being isolated in his work.
“A prime example of people working together at all levels” was the agriculture minister’s takeaway of his first visit to a social farm which he said, was an inspiring experience.
For the last number of years William has supported people with disabilities and young people taking the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) programme on his farm.
During his visit, the minister saw first hand, the projects in which the young people were involved with. He heard from a number of them about the benefits of William’s support and their time on the farm.
Schools involved in social farming
Carndonagh Community School was the first in Ireland to place students on a social farm and its success, documented in a Social Farming Ireland case study, has prompted a large number of other schools in the country to pursue this unique on-farm support for their students.
Elaine Meehan, the LCA coordinator at the school, spoke to the minister about the very real difference this made for the school’s efforts to retain students and to the students’ own commitment to completing their LCA programme.
Minister McConalogue’s department has been funding the development of Social Farming Ireland, the national social farming network through Leitrim Development Company, since 2017.
Brian Smyth, project manager, said they now have 120 social farms – at least one in every county – which have delivered support to 1,400 people across 13,400 participant placement days.
Brian noted that people with challenges such as disability; mental health; educational disadvantage; exclusion; inequality; unemployment; addiction; and homelessness have thrived, thanks the support of local farmers.
The natural farm assets of place, activities and community are of great benefit to them in dealing with and meeting their challenges, he said.
The minister recognised that funding for social farming placements provides valuable additional income to the social farmers trained and mentored through the Social Farming Ireland Network.
Dr. Aisling Moroney, policy officer with Social Farming, indicted that research has found that farm incomes improved, and that social farming can act as an impetus for diversification, for environmental and other farm improvements, and also for stimulating next-generation interest and involvement in the farm.
“Farmers and their families can see that the farm is not just a place which produces food, but has many other assets which can be used in a variety of ways to increase the social and economic sustainability of the farm into the future,” she said.
The minister agreed that social farming is a great opportunity and a win-win for individuals, farmers, communities and wider society, and said that he will examine ways to help mainstream such on-farm support.