’Day of action’ will call for full CAP budget

IFA’s ‘day of action’ on Tuesday, Oct 9, will highlight the squeeze on farm incomes, and send a message to the Government and the European Commission to support farming and rural communities with a full CAP budget, to retain national funding for income-related farm schemes, and to get a fair price from retailers.

According to IFA, cuts to farm schemes have hit the poorest farmers hard, and their members are beset by extra costs and taxes, and by the disastrous summer weather.

Oct 9 is an opportunity for farmers to let the country know times are harder than usual in their tough business — and could get much harder if the financial lifeline from Brussels that keeps them in profit is weakened — with consequences for the sector’s 300,000 jobs and €9bn of food- and drink-related exports.