Climate Advisory Council Puts it Up to Govt on Funding for Farmers

IFA President Francie Gorman said today’s Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) report on agriculture re-affirms what IFA has been saying about the need for more Government support for farmers.

The IFA President said farmers were fully committed to producing food sustainably, but they must be supported to do so. 

‘Farmers are responding to the climate challenge, but they cannot be expected to pay for it out of their own pockets. They cannot be put in the red by going green,” he said.

“The Climate Fund announced by the Government in the last budget is an obvious way of funding the range of measures identified by the CCAC. The income pressures that are so evident in the last 12 months point to the importance of Government support to allow the sector to achieve its targets,” he said.

On forestry, the IFA President said the mishandling of a range of issues has contributed to lower plantings.

“The Department of Agriculture has to re-build confidence among farmers if this is to be turned around,” he said.