A total of 51 farmers aged 60 years and more have received grants this year to cover part of the cost of obtaining succession planning advice.
Under a new initiative introduced as part of Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027 farmers aged over 60 can apply for a maximum grant of up to €1,500 to cover the costs for legal and financial advice on succession planning.
To qualify for the grant farmers must be farming a minimum of three hectares of land at the time of application and must also be farming for a minimum of two years.
According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 81 applications were received by farmers in tranche one of the scheme – which opened on September 19, 2023 and closed on December 31, 2023.
Tranche one payments were made to farmers in the first quarter of 2024.
In response to a parliamentary question tabled by the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Claire Kerrane, Minister Charlie McConalogue said the total amount paid under tranche one was €61,534.
“A second tranche opened January 1, 2024 and will remain open to December 31, 2024 with payments to issue in early 2025,” he added.
Grants
According to the Central Statistics Office the age profile of farm holders in Ireland has changed over the last 30 years, and there are now fewer farm holders under the age of 45 and considerably more aged 65 or over.
Minister has previously said that he recognised that “there are considerable demographic challenges in the agricultural sector” .
He said the Succession Planning Advice Grants scheme aims to encourage “best practice in intergenerational land transfer in order to address, among other things, significant generational imbalances in farming”.
According to the European Commission Ireland is just one of a number of member states who are currently facing a generational renewal challenge.
The last Integrated Farm Statistics (IFS) census highlighted that only 20% of European farmers are below 45 years old and around 30% are close to retirement.