Farmers continue to leave land, says survey
It’s a statistic that has a ring of desperation about it given the continuing pressure facing the sector highlighted in the 2000 Census of Agriculture which shows the slightly better profile of 13% of Irish farmers under 35 against the EU average of 11%.
Again the Teagasc survey shows 20% of Irish farmers doing well in the over 65 category compared to 28% for the European Union as a whole.
According to Liam Connolly, who carried out the research, the proportion of Irish farmers under 35 has not changed since 1991, while the number over 65 has declined from 23% to 20%.
The figures sound like numbers heading in the right direction, when in reality they are just ringing the changes in a sector that has been under continuing pressure ever since industry took over from farming as the main driver of economic growth.
In that context perhaps the more interesting Teagasc figure is that Irish agriculture accounts for 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), twice the EU average while agri-food exports account for over 8% of total foreign earnings.
Some other interesting figures to emerge is farmers who operate on a part-time basis significantly outnumber those fully engaged in agriculture.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey shows a total of 47,000 full-time farms against 73,000 part-timers.
Those engaged full-time had an average income of €31,000 while 60% of these are in the dairy sector, 32% in beef/sheep and 8% in tillage.
Average income for the 73,000 part-time farms was a modest €5,900 in 2001. By contrast almost 90% of these are involved in beef/sheep. And on 80% of these farms the farmer and/or partner had another vital source of income either from off-farm employment, pension or social assistance.
It emerged also on 45% of all farms, the farmer and/or partner now have an off-farm job, compared to a figure of 32% a decade ago, which marks a further significant milestone in the continuing evolution of Irish agriculture. When income from pension or social assistance is included, farming is now the sole source of financial support on just 36% of all farms as the decline in earnings forces more and more to seek work in industry and other sectors of the economy in order to survive.
The Teagasc figures are an interesting snap shot of the state of Irish agriculture.
They show a sector in continuing decline with numbers in agriculture overall falling by 17% during the 1990s.
However, these figures show those involved in farming still account for 6.5% of the total workforce but that figure rises to 10% when the processing and marketing sectors are included.
Overall projected average farm income for 2002, at just over €14,000, is similar to the figure achieved in 1995.
When inflation is taken into account, average farm incomes have declined by almost 20% since 1995 which shows why less and less are engaged full time in the business.
That’s not the full picture however of the state of Irish agriculture which is being driven towards bigger holdings and larger milk quotas as pressures for reform edge out the small players.
So, in the context of the dominant dairy sector, it emerged that in 2001, the average income of dairy and tillage farmers was on a par with the average industrial wage of €24,500.
In sharp contrast, sheep and beef farmers had an average income of only one-third of industrial workers reflecting the much more isolated and marginalised nature of the sector for those still involved, especially those hanging in on a part-time basis.
Just how marginalised is highlighted in the Teagasc Farm Survey for 2001.
It showed these farmers, while accounting for 66% of all holdings nationally, earned just 36% of total farm income.
Dairy farmers, which make up 27% of all farms accounted for 54% of income. Meanwhile as pressure for change continues unabated the ripple effects are being felt beyond the primary processor.
But despite the massive pressures to change both the dairy and beef sectors, beef barons are showing a marked reluctance at this stage to bite the bullet of reform.
Our ability to adapt will be a vital factor in helping to maintain reasonable living standards across the sectors going forward, but getting such reform is proving difficult despite the need for radical reform of the entire agri-food sector to meet the impending challenges resulting from CAP and WTO reforms that are in the pipeline.
