Family farms are ‘suffering from climate change and globalisation’

Globalisation of food supply chains, changing food policies, and climate change are all adding to the challenges faced by family farms, according to Teagasc director Professor Gerry Boyle.

He said the challenges are reflected in the family farm’s declining share of the population balance in recent decades. The 1971 census says 25% of households were headed by a farmer; in 2011 that figure was just 6%.

This change partly reflects a decline in the number of ‘farm households’, from 179,000 to 96,000 (-46%).