Rising farm costs ‘must be tackled’
The party’s agriculture and food spokesman Billy Timmins said the figures show that the cost of inputs, such as energy and fertilisers as well as veterinary expenses have continued to grow while, at the same time, the prices that farmers are receiving are still in decline.
“These figures show that in 2003 farmers’ energy costs increased by 6%; veterinary expenses rose by almost 5%, and fertilisers increased by 2%.
“On the other side of the coin, in many areas of farm production, the prices received by farmers fell substantially.
“In 2003, prices for cereals fell by almost 5%; milk dropped by 4%, with sheep and poultry prices also showing a downward trend last year,” said Mr Timmins.
He said these figures proved that many farmers were continuing to experience real hardships and that the payoff between what they were putting in and what they were getting back out for their labour was being squeezed more and more.
“Minister Walsh may reassure himself that he has set up a new committee (Agri Vision 2015 Committee) to examine the future of agriculture in Ireland.
“However, for farmers struggling with the present situation on the ground, another report will do little to help them to make ends meet,” he said.
He said Mr Walsh needed to take action now to secure a viable future for farmers, not just issue another report to gather dust.
