EU Commission Funding Gives Govt Opportunity to Provide Package of €50m

IFA President Tim Cullinan said the Government could bring in a package of measures worth nearly €50m following the EU Commission’s announcement of €500m to help Member States tackle the inputs crisis.

Ireland’s allocation of just over €15m can be increased with Govt funding to bring it up to over €47m. “Our Govt can send a strong signal of intent here by stepping up to support farmers,” he said.

The EU Commission has also decided to allow crops to be grown on fallow land, which will help to boost feedstocks in the country.

IFA had suggested that fallow land could be used, without any penalty on farmers, to allow us to build up our feed requirements.

Tim Cullinan, who represented COPA at a meeting of the Commission’s Food Security Crisis Group yesterday, re-iterated the urgency needed to address the inputs crisis if farmers are to produce the food that’s required.

“The renewed focus on food security is vital given the pressures on the supply chain. The Commission also announced safety net measures to support the incomes of pig farmers, who have been hardest hit by spiralling feed costs,” he said.

There is also a commitment to provide more advances on direct payments in October, but further clarity is needed.