Farmers that have to take out loans to cover the current high costs of fertiliser and feed is setting a “very worrying precedent”, according to a TD.
Michael Healy-Rae said that fertiliser and feed are “two of the most basic and important ingredients that we need in farming”.
The independent TD said that the main farm input costs, including electricity, have been increasing but the prices paid to farmers have not.
“If you have a system and it requires so many tonnes of fertiliser, you have to go away and buy that and this is why we are married to paying the price that is dictated to us.
“A farmer can’t say that they won’t buy fertiliser or feed as it is gone very expensive. That’s like someone saying that they won’t put bread on the table tomorrow for the children. You have to eat, so do the animals,” Healy-Rae said.
The Kerry independent TD said that politicians must lobby on behalf of the farmers.
“We have to fight to ensure that farmers are not being robbed, because I feel that they are being robbed,” he said.
Healy-Rae said that farmers need to be assured of fertiliser supplies which should be available at an affordable price.
Fertiliser loans
The TD told Agriland that he was very concerned that farmers would need to take out loans to cover the current high cost of fertiliser and feed bills.
Healy-Rae compared it to a person needing to take out a loan to pay for the weekly household shopping.
“I don’t want to see that type of a situation arising, because to me it would be a very worrying precedent.
“There are certain things in life that we have to borrow for but borrowing to buy fertiliser or feed – anything other than what I would call using the normal credits made available – would worry me greatly. I’d be nervous of going into that type of a situation. I would have grave concerns about it,” the TD explained.
“If the people who were there before us were to come back and hear that type of a story they would ask what has gone wrong in Ireland today,” Healy-Rae said.
Imports
Meanwhile, in response to a parliamentary question from the Kerry TD, it was revealed that over 1.5 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser was imported into Ireland during the first 11 months of 2021.
In 2020, more than 1.78 million tonnes of chemical fertiliser was brought into the country, while during the previous 12 months the figure stood at 1.58 million tonnes.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue noted that imports of chemical fertilisers were cyclical in nature and depended on environmental conditions.
The minister said his department currently has “no visibility on imports for 2022”.