Farming special - Day 3:
Only 6% of those queried reported that their applications for credit were refused in the last 12 months.
Farmers estimate that achieving Food Harvest 2020 growth targets will require huge investment on farms, including €1.5bn by dairy farmers alone
The same survey question was asked last year.
“Have you been refused credit in the past year?
And if yes, by whom?”
In 2013, 19% of farmers interviewed at the Carbery Show in Skibbereen, West Cork, stated that their application for finance had been turned down.
But this year there was a dramatic change in the sample of farmers interviewed at the same show, with just 4% saying they had failed in their request for credit.
However, the experience of farmers at Cappamore Show in Co Limerick was the direct opposite, with 16% reporting a credit application refusal compared with 3% in 2013.
Farmers attending the country’s biggest one-day show, at Tullamore, also reported a hike in credit refusals over the previous year – they rose from 3% to 16%.
A breakdown of the farm enterprises of those refused credit reveals an interesting focus, compared with 2013. Tillage accounted for 7% of refusals (up 1% from last year), dairying 6% (up 2%), livestock 6% (no change), other types of farming 11% (down 6%).
Minister of State Tom Hayes recently said he was pleased the main commercial banks had initiated a number of specific agri-food funds, and that the take-up to date had been very positive.
