It is becoming “increasingly unrealistic” to increase the farm gate value of horticulture by 2027, with a reduction in funding for the sector in Budget 2025 according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA)

IFA Fruit and Vegetable chair Niall McCormack said that measures in Budget 2025 were disappointing for the Irish horticulture industry with overall funding for the industry reduced by almost 25% to €8.5 million.

According to the organisation, last year there was funding of €10 million for Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector and a further €1.35 million for Investment Aid for Innovation and Diversification in Horticulture.

This year the combined funding for both schemes is €8.5 million.

Horticulture Strategy

As part of the Horticulture Strategy, there is an ambition to increase the farm gate value of the sector by 30% to €688 million by the end of 2027, the IFA has stated.

With a 25% reduction in the overall horticulture budget announced this week, “this is becoming increasingly unrealistic”, McCormack said.

As part of the budget, it was announced that horticultural growers who planted and declared field grown food crops in 2024 on their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application will receive the €100/ha tillage payment announced as part of Budget 2025.

“While positive, this level of funding will do little to combat the soaring input costs that growers in these sectors are experiencing,” McCormack continued.

Teagasc has previously published data that over the last three years, combined horticultural inputs have risen by on average 40%.

“The impact of the increase in the minimum wage in January will further erode growers’ margins,” the IFA chair said.

“Our sector has been in disarray for a long time now and unfortunately, we are continuing to lose growers from the industry.”

Earlier this week, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Pippa Hackett stated: “We have secured a budget of €8.5 million for horticulture in 2025, which will support growers and the sector to reach the ambition set out in the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027.

“In addition, I want to highlight that horticultural growers who planted and declared field grown food crops in 2024 on their BISS application will receive the €100/hectare tillage payment announced as part of Budget 2025.

“This overall allocation builds on our significant support for the horticulture sector in recent years and will drive further investment, innovation and diversification for the benefit of producers and consumers alike.”