The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has pledged to support farm families “at every step of the journey” throughout 2023.
Minister McConalogue said Ireland is facing “into a decade of change” but that change, in itself, need “not be scary”.
“We stand together on what will be a huge and challenging journey but I, again, reassure the farm families of Ireland that I will support them at every step of the journey.
“We are in this together. We will continue to be a world-class producer off animal-based proteins for 10, 20 or even 30 years. This will also be backed by our excellent tillage sector.
“Our farm families will always be the bedrock of everything we do and I will support and back you at every step,” the minister said in a New Year’s message.
He said his wish for farm families in 2023 was for “a prosperous, healthy and safe” 12 months ahead.
He also praised Ireland’s agri-food sector which he said was “the envy of the world” and stressed that it was the government’s ambition to make it the “sustainable food capital of the world”.
The minister said the “hard work” of the agri-food sector was appreciated by families throughout Ireland.
“As I sat down to have the family Christmas dinner, nearly everything on the table came from the fields and hands of Irish family farms,” Minister McConalogue said.
“The turkey, the ham, the sprouts, the carrots, the potatoes – mash and roasted. Even the milk came from the dedicated work of our liquid milk suppliers who are as busy on Christmas Day as they are in June keeping fresh milk in our fridge.
“And those who enjoyed beef or sheepmeat last week were safe in the knowledge that they were produced to the highest standards here,” he added.
Looking back Minister McConalogue said the last 12 months had been “a year of challenge and change” for the farming sector.
“2022 was a truly historic year – a year like no other for the largest and most important indigenous sector.
“We concluded the Common Agricultural Policy, with record Pillar II funding, we dealt with the fallout of the illegal war in Ukraine, we implemented the hugely successful €1.5bn ACRES agri-environmental scheme, we made huge progress in establishing the Agri-Food Regulator, amongst others.
“Regarding the war in Ukraine, it resulted in significant difficulties for our primary producers. Most notably, input prices have spiked as a result of major disruptions to supply chains. I thank all farmers for everything they did this year,” Minister McConalogue added.
He said that targeted supports including the Farm Fodder Support Scheme and the Tillage Incentive Scheme had been designed by the government to support farm families as they dealt with the fall out from the war.
“These €91 million in supports have supported our farm families and I will continue to support them in the time ahead,” he said in his New Year’s message.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine believes that one of the key challenges for the agriculture sector in 2023 will revolve around Ireland’s “climate ambitions to reduce carbon emissions”.
But he said he is confident that this can be done while “protecting food security and the integrity of our farming sector”.
“My strategy is straightforward. I want to keep farmers farming and ensure they have a a strong future for this and subsequent generations,” the minister added.
“Irish farmers are innovative, resilient and already committed to working together to find solutions in the face of this enormous challenge of reducing our emissions. Farmers have been on a journey towards becoming more sustainable for many years.
“We are now stepping up that ambition,” Minister McConalogue said.