The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has urged Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to announce the start date for the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).
The new TAMS, set to be known as the On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS), will focus in on a number of areas – renewable energy, organics, farm safety, climate change mitigation and optimising environmental practices on farms.
The new scheme is to begin this year under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
TAMS
IFA National Poultry Committee chair, Nigel Sweetnam, said that clarity is needed from Minister McConalogue around the measures to be included in the new scheme for farmers.
Sweetnam said that given the ongoing threat of avian influenza (bird flu), biosecurity has never been more important for the poultry sector.
“It’s crucial that the minister includes biosecurity measures which are vitally important in helping to protect the sector as we work to manage the challenge of avian influenza.
“Poultry farmers and the industry have excelled in containing avian influenza, but the risk has far from gone away.
“We need clarity as we plan for the future to manage the risk as we continue to struggle with high input costs and continue to mitigate the risk of disease. Biosecurity has never been so important,” Sweetnam said.
The IFA poultry chair said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has reinforced the importance of implementing and enhancing on-farm biosecurity.
Officials from the department also told the Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar in Co. Kildare today (Friday, January 13) of the need to maintain our food production industry, export markets and Irish family farms and their livelihoods.
“The IFA Poultry Committee is also looking for aid to adapt renewable technology to combat the soaring energy costs with carbon tax now accounting for 2% of farmers’ costs,” Sweetnam added.