The proposed move under the new Results-based Environmental-Agri pilot Project (REAP) to exclude commonage and land containing heather “stunned” the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA), which said such a move “confirmed its worst fears”.
This follows a presentation made by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the farm organisations yesterday (Thursday, April 15), which was met with dismay from some groups.
Speaking today, INHFA president Colm O’Donnell outlined his dismay on the exclusion of these lands, which are “predominately peat-based and prime habitats for a wide range of fauna such as the endangered red grouse which is an annex 1 red listed bird”, adding:
“It is shocking that an agri-environmental programme, supported by the Irish state and the European Union, ignores the most valuable lands in the country – with a high percentage of these lands forming part of the Natura 2000 network.
In making the call to exclude these lands, he added: “It does increase our suspicion that the habitats and biodiversity is of secondary importance to the carbon asset that many believe and hope these lands can deliver.
“Similar to what is happening in the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] negotiations under GAEC [Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition] 2 where prescribed actions could make peat soils ineligible, this pilot has also identified large areas of peat soils for exclusion.”
As this is a pilot it will be instrumental in forming the basis for the next agri-environmental scheme in the new CAP, the INHFA noted.
On this O’Donnell questioned if commonage and hill land where heather dominates “will even get access to any such scheme”.
On the commonage issue he also questioned if Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue “is fully aware of the impact this will have, especially in his own county”.
In relation to the proposed budget of €10 million O’Donnell stated:
“All farmers will be disappointed with the level of support which is well short of the €1.5 billion in the state’s carbon fund that was initially suggested, or the more modest €79 million outlined in last autumn’s budget.”
The president also addressed “suggestions made by some” that the organisation is “scare-mongering” when it comes to proposals around peat soils.
On this he quoted a well-worn phrase “if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is a duck” before adding:
“When we look at these and other proposals on agriculture and across climate change policy it isn’t hard to join the dots and see the land and our farm families who farm those lands extensively are right now the firing line.”