20,400 fewer full-time farmers

THE number of full-time farmers fell by 20,400 in the six-year period up to 2003, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan told the Dáil.

Replying to Dr Mary Upton (Labour), she said the most recent figures available from the Central Statistics Office show that there were 77,900 full-time farmers, as defined by the CSO, in 2003.

Over the same period (1997-2003) the number of part-time farmers increased by 7,900 to 57,200. Ms Coughlan said the agri-vision 2015 committee believed the trend to part-time farming, using a different definition than the CSO, will continue. “The ongoing trend towards part-time farming reflects a combination of factors, including the increased availability of off-farm employment.