‘Vital’ farm schemes underpin agriculture’s role in recovery
IFA president Eddie Downey said it was vital that funding for the Rural Development Programme (RDP) is delivered in this October’s budget.
He said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney must fight for the allocation of €500m plus of funding for RDP farm schemes in the Budget at the Cabinet table in the coming weeks.
IFA chief economist Rowena Dwyer said the analysis, which is based on the most up-to-date data available from the Central Statistics Office, Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, and Bord Bia, demonstrates how important agriculture is to rural economies, and the role it can play in mitigating the threat of a two-speed economic recovery.
“While there is a strong awareness of the contribution of agriculture to the Irish economy, supporting upwards of 300,000 jobs and underpinning agri-food exports in excess of €10bn, the role that agriculture plays in the economy outside of large urban areas and on a local basis is of even greater importance.
“The analysis undertaken by the IFA highlights the importance of a strong agriculture sector in each county, providing employment and generating output not just in farming itself but in the thousands of regionally based jobs dependent on and linked to the sector,” she said.
