Coveney focused on efficiency

MEASURES to boost agricultural productivity and efficiency, and helping the farmers who depend heavily on financial support from the state and the EU, will be the priorities of Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney as he fights for agriculture’s share of increasingly scarce government funding.

“I will be prioritising the limited amount of money we have to spend for key areas, including supporting the strategy in Food Harvest 2020 and supporting farmers so as to keep them on the land in the first place. Many farm families could not stay farming if they did not have a certain amount of subsidy and support. The two key areas, therefore, concern increased productivity and efficiency, as referred to in the Food Harvest 2020 document, and the type of farmer who needs the financial support of the State and European Union.”

He said the Government will be under much more pressure next year in the context of expenditure, and is trying to finalise as many payments as possible this year, both environmental schemes and grant-aid schemes. “If we grant-aid developments on farms under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, we will seek to get that money spent this year.”