Undergrazing a threat to hills

A share of modulation funding should be used to help maintain sheep flocks on hill and mountain areas, new research has recommended. The aim should be to maintain a balance between overgrazing and undergrazing and thereby habitat retention, the IFA commissioned report says.

The need arises because decoupling will allow farmers reduce stock numbers and still receive full entitlement payments, says UCD graduate Eamon Frayne. "The big fear is that farmers in hill and mountain areas will further reduce their sheep numbers to a stage where undergrazing of habitats will become a problem.''

He claims that the process of designating environmental sites has been poorly handled in Ireland with less dialogue and dissemination of information. "The lack of communication about the designation process and the implications of SAC and SPA designations for landowners has caused a deep mistrust to develop between landowners, farm organisations and the authorities implementing the directive.''

The EU had acknowledged in 2002 in the El Teide Declaration that the success of the Natura 2000 initiative would require it having the support of citizens, "especially local people and landowners''.

Frayne identified a number of problems resulting from the 30% destocking of designated hills in 1998. It was a major problem for those starting out in farming or attempting to expand their enterprises at that time or since.

"This turned away anybody who was interested in farming because hill sheep production is the only farming activity in these areas. The result of this was that very few young people entered agriculture in these areas. They sought jobs in other sectors and some may have been forced to move away to get jobs, adding to rural depopulation. This could have implications in the future for farming activities in these areas when the current farming generation disappear.''

Designation also caused problems in relation to forestry and planning while there was no effort by government agencies to highlight the funding opportunities that were opened to people affected by designation.

This research will be outlined to a series of IFA hill farming meetings starting tonight in Castlebar.