The announcement of a €100/ha support for tillage farmers who plant in 2024 has fallen short of the expectations of an Irish farm organisation.
During his speech yesterday (Saturday, April 14) at the Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue announced the funding for the sector.
However, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman said the tillage payment was “a long way short of what is required.”
Gorman said: “The reality is that before this announcement, the government’s 2024 allocation for tillage farmers was nearly €30m down on 2023. This announcement is unlikely to even fill that hole”.
“I met the minister this week and made a submission setting out a strong case for €250/ha. The minister’s announcement is far short of that.
“Instead of making a rushed announcement for an Árd Fheis audience, the minister should engage with the sector and come forward with proposals to address one of the biggest crises in the history of our tillage sector,” he said.
The IFA president said that during the meeting he had with the minister, “budgetary challenges” were cited by the minister as a “barrier to supporting the sector”.
Yesterday, Minister McConalogue detailed that “despite the restraints of [his] existing budget” he would commit to “deliver €100/ha for tillage farmers who plant field crops in 2024”.
“The ball is now in the new Taoiseach’s court to increase the allocation to the Department of Agriculture to allow for a tillage scheme that will make a real difference,” Gorman added.
IFA grain chair Kieran McEvoy said: “The weather conditions have only amplified the deep problems that exist for the tillage sector.
“The minister has to come forward with a credible package that gives some hope to specialist tillage growers.”
Yesterday, Minister McConalogue said: “I want to help tillage farmers have the confidence to plant in 2024, so I am committing that I will find a mechanism to support any farmer that puts seed in the soil this year.
“Tillage farmers are fearful, unsure of what or when it will be possible to plant their crops and what it will be possible to yield, as the weather continues to impact,” he added.