Some 95,400 people are employed in farming, according to the CSO’s latest labour force survey. This represents a 30% drop from 136,800 in the third quarter of 1999, two decades ago.

The category includes those working in crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities such as contracting. However, it excludes those working in forestry or fishing. It is interesting to see the difference between the number of eligible farmers on the Basic Payment Scheme for 2019, almost 122,000, and the figures that the CSO has for numbers working in the agriculture sector.

The gap could possibly be accounted for by part-time farmers who do not count agriculture as their main occupation.

Meanwhile, the number of people employed in food manufacturing has climbed to 52,600 by the third quarter of 2019. This is a 0.5% increase on the same time last year and a 6.3% increase on 20 years ago.