Representatives from the European Commission are to be asked about their plans to reduce fertiliser costs for farmers by an Oireachtas committee later today (Wednesday, January 19).
Chair of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Jackie Cahill said that the price of fertiliser is “off the radar”.
The Fianna Fáil TD outlined that the cost of fertiliser has jumped by up to 250% in the past six months.
He said that the reality of this will be that less intensive farmers may reduce the amount of product that they buy this year.
However, the Tipperary representative explained that more heavily stocked farmers will have to use fertiliser in order to get a yield from their enterprise.
Fertiliser
The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine has 14 members; nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.
Around 5:30p.m today, the committee will host a virtual meeting with representatives from the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).
The call will include input from Fabien Santini who is the deputy head of the EU’s governance of agri-food markets unit.
Jackie Cahill outlined to Agriland that he and members of the joint committee will be asking the officials why fertiliser prices have spiraled.
He also said that they would be asking the EU representatives to outline what plans are being put in place to ensure availability of supply and a reduction in the cost of raw materials.
Cahill said that tensions between the EU and Russia surrounding the situation in Ukraine would also be discussed and what potential impact that this may have on the fertiliser market.
Elsewhere, Cultivate chairman and former president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Joe Healy, has confirmed that the organisation’s ‘fertiliser loan’ scheme is to commence on Monday, January 31, 2022.
Cultivate is an initiative of a group of credit unions that provides short to medium-term loan opportunities built specifically around the growing needs of farming members.
Healy said that fertiliser sales in Ireland last year were around €500 million but that could rise to €1.2 billion in the coming 12 months.