IFA seeks resources for agriculture

THE Government was urged yesterday to put in place resources to allow agriculture keep pace with the prosperity of other sectors in the economy.

IFA president Padraig Walshe made the call when he addressed a Department of Finance consultation seminar in Dublin on the next National Development Plan 2007-2013. He said the growth in incomes has not been evenly spread.

Mr Walshe said Government policy must encourage commercial farming, which is the backbone of the rural economy and underpins the food industry, worth over €7 billion in annual exports.