Task force needed to deal with fodder crisis, warns Moynihan

Ireland needs a task force to deal with immediate impacts of the fodder crisis and to develop a credible plan for future years, says Fianna Fáil’s Michael Moynihan.

The North Cork TD said that if this crisis was impacting upon a multinational with €9bn in exports, every effort would be made to protect it. He wants similar protection for the indigenous agri-food industry.

“We have been talking for a month in relation to this crisis, and it has just kept escalating ever since,” said Mr Moynihan. “The industry needs to sit down with all the stakeholders. We need a task force or a co-ordinating committee.”

He wants the Government to host a meeting of all the stakeholders in the sector. He said he understands that Teagasc has been meeting agri leaders in Portlaoise talking about a strategy for the future, but others need to do likewise.

“This is so serious for the entire agricultural community,” he said. “Even though the crisis has been there for the past 12 months, the minister hasn’t found it within himself to set up a task force. Now is the time for real action. There is a fundamental crisis there beyond anyone’s comprehension.

“I was talking to people in the last few days who have 70 to 90 cows and they have no feed closed off for silage. In the better years, they would even be contemplating cutting silage now.

“At best case scenario, they will only get one cut of silage off the land this year, and that will have huge repercussion for fodder going into 2014. We are storing up a crisis going forward. Everybody within the agricultural community needs to be sitting down and looking at this,” said Mr Moynihan.

ICMSA president John Comer said that while the extension to the fodder transport subsidy was welcome, the overall response is still falling well short of what is required.

He pointed out that during a previous fodder crisis in 1999 the Government allocated €10m to a fodder scheme to remedy a situation that was less serious and of a considerably shorter duration than this crisis.

He urged the minister and his team to look at all options, including an interest-free loan, to those worst affected, with repayment schedules that were flexible and realistic to meet the massive feed bills incurred.