Farmers need guidance through crisis
Agriculture and Food Minister Joe Walsh, who visited the show for the Nations Cup, dealt with the issue earlier when he launched his Department’s annual report for 2001.
He said he had asked the advisory body Teagasc to work closely with the farming community and to help it in every possible way it could.
Mr Walsh said he had met the farm leaders with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Social Affairs Minister Mary Coughlan and that changes had been made to the Farm Assist scheme to help those in difficulty.
Minister Walsh welcomed an EU Commission derogation for the use of set-aside land, in view of the persistent wet weather conditions this year.
This derogation allows grass grown during the set-aside period, which normally has to be cut and left lying in the field, to be grazed or saved for winter feeding on the farm.
Mr Walsh said that while he would have preferred an earlier and less restrictive derogation, he said it would, however, be of significant benefit on the worst affected farms.
Noting that a lot of progress had been made with farm work in recent weeks, he said his Department would be keeping a close eye on the difficult weather situation.
Reviewing the past year, he said it was undoubtedly a memorable one, not least due to the successful campaign to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.
It turned out to be a positive year for the farming sector, with aggregate farm income rising by 4.2%. In addition, average income per work unit in Ireland for 2001, adjusted for inflation, increased by 7.8%, which compares favourably with the EU average of 3.3%.
Regarding CAP, he said one of the major points of his argument against the Fischler proposals was that paying farmers to do nothing was unsustainable.
Fine Gael agriculture spokesman Deputy Billy Timmins warned that Minister Walsh must bring a targeted plan to Government to assist the agriculture industry which is facing its worse crisis in years.
“There is an unprecedented despondency among farming communities following the severe weather crisis and the uncertainty over the future of the CAP,” he said.
Labour Party agriculture spokesperson, Deputy Jack Wall said more needs to be done to alleviate the distress being experienced by farmers as a result of the appalling weather conditions in recent months.
ICMSA president Pat O'Rourke called for Government action on an animal fodder scheme. He said there was also a need for banks to restructure loans and provide longer term finance to allow farmers to farm their way out of difficulties.
