The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that his key focus is ensuring farming remains strong and sustainable into the future.
In the Seanad yesterday (Tuesday, April 5), Senator Victor Boyhan asked Minister McConalogue to clarify if he is considering rolling out a retirement scheme for dairy farmers.
The independent senator, who is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, also outlined the challenge of generational renewal.
“Macra na Feirme has continued to highlight the need to secure transitional issues around farming and a younger generation in farming, which is a challenge. I am deeply concerned about the current percentage of about 6% of farmers under the age of 35,” he said.
“At the same time people must not feel they are being pushed off the land. An older generation may be able to transfer knowledge and experience.
“For those people what we are talking about is not just their farm or place of work; it is their home, their community, their language and their lifestyle. We must understand all these complexities when we speak about rural communities and agriculture,” Boyhan stated.
The senator also highlighted the need to discuss “broad diversification”.
“We want to keep people on the land, keep our rural communities and viable family farms, add, expand, co-operate and use all sorts of synergies. The reality of new farming for many people is that there will be off-farm income.”
In response, Minister McConalogue said that generational renewal is at the centre of all policies at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
He said that the issue is also prominent in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Food Vision 2030.
The minister said that Ireland’s draft CAP strategic plan proposes “innovative ways” to advise older farmers on succession and their retirement options. He said this will increase the availability of land for younger farmers.
Minister McConalogue did not directly address Senator Boyhan’s question about a retirement scheme for dairy farmers.
However, he ruled out introducing an early retirement scheme, which he said was suggested during his recent meetings with farmers at marts around the country.
“I decided ultimately not to go down that road. When we did it before it was found that it did not necessarily achieve its key objective of directing funding towards young farmers and getting young people into farming,” the minister said.
“Instead, it funded farmers who were under 65-years-of-age to leave early. A large number of farmers aged over 65 years who are entitled to the pension are staying on.
“I want to get young people into farming. When we have a certain defined pot of money, is it better to give funding to people to retire early or is it better to target it at the young farmers we wish to encourage?
“The approach I have taken throughout the CAP has been to try to direct this funding towards young farmers. We have increased funding and improved all of the existing schemes.
“As we go forward, the key policy objective will be to bring about generational renewal and get young farmers into the industry to sustain it,” the minister said.