Agri-sector must ‘prepare for change’
He also predicted that resources for agriculture in Europe will remain strong until 2013, but after that he felt they would not be the same level of funding. Mr Ahern said it worried him that people kept ignoring that prospect. They should not give the view that the present level of resources will continue into the distant future.
“I continually warn of it because I do not see these kind of resources retaining for agriculture in Europe and that is the real concern,” he said.
The Taoiseach was responding to a query about the level of EU and state expenditure in Irish agriculture, which was 2.9 billion last year, including 1.64 billion in direct payments.
Mr Ahern was speaking with reporters after he had opened the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) conference at Leopardstown Pavilion in Co Dublin.
The Taoiseach said the next WTO agreement will involve a reduction in the levels of tariff protection and increased imports into the EU. But there will also be opportunities in the form of easier access to third country
markets. He said there will be considerable reward for those who understand the need to change and have the courage to implement it.
The conference on coping with change was told that an ACA survey showed that 27% of farmers indicated that they feel sure they will not have a direct successor for their farm.
It also revealed that 84% of family farms surveyed showed that the historical financial performance of the farm business was inadequate to meet the financial needs of the family.
Based on these indicators, the Taoiseach said it was becoming clear that radical policy changes were urgently required if the industry is to survive and compete.
The analysis indicated that some 60,000 farmers out of a total of around 140,000 are without a successor and that about 120,000 farmers are dependent on supplementary income.
Mr Ahern stressed, however, that farming still has a significant role in the economy and, while their incomes are under pressure, full time farmers are still making a decent return from farming.
ACA president Eddie McQuinn said the social and economic results of the trends shown in the survey were alarming.
