Farmers almost halved by 2014, says expert
This is part of a european wide effort to come up with a blue print for agriculture, as it is pushed further to the perimeters of economic life.
In Maynooth College the views of experts from the food sector, universities and key civil servants have produced six to seven draft documents covering all aspects of agriculture and rural life.
The final report will be published in Easter 2005, it was confirmed yesterday by Professor Liam Downey, who has been heading up the project on behalf of the EU.
Prof Downey is a former head of Teagasc and one of the most respected names in global agriculture.
An agricultural blueprint must be produced by each EU state under a plan initiated by former Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, in response to changes taking place in agriculture due to CAP reform and the expansion of open markets.
Prof Downey warned the flight from the land will turn much of rural Ireland into a barren waste, “if we fail to plan for the transition properly.”
It is a fact that along the western seaboard land will be abandoned, with huge social and environmental implications.
Action is required to substitute farm work with strategically placed small firms, which will be critical to keeping people based in the rural landscape.
Within 10 years only 15,000 full time farmers will be left on the land, according to Prof Downey and it is estimated overall farming numbers will have fallen from 100,000 in 1998 to around 55,000.
The 15,000 full time farmers left will be mainly in dairying and located in Munster and south Leinster. Another 2,000 will be active in the beef sector.
“The most critical issue facing Irish agriculture is the need for a study into the seasonal impact of milk production in Ireland,” said Prof Downey.
Seasonal production may have suited farmers best from a cost point of view, but the implications of this for the entire dairy sector is a much bigger issue that we have failed to address in this country, he said.
