There have been few periods in recent history where farm incomes across the board have been under the pressure being felt now.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that at 23c/l, dairy farmers are receiving a base price of 7c/l less than the average base paid in 1996. Tillage farmers find themselves in a similar position, with the market price for grain currently on par with 1996 levels.

When adjusted for purchasing power, current milk and grain prices are down 45% and 30% respectively when compared to 1996.

While in historic terms the market price for beef and lamb is performing stronger, both sectors have always been heavily dependent on market supports to underpin incomes.

All sectors have seen these supports severely eroded in recent years – both at national and EU level.

At EU level, CAP has been stripped of the basic tools necessary to provide financial protection against market volatility and no longer targets support at the farmer planting the grain, calving the cow or lambing the ewe.

Meanwhile, closer to home, IFA figures show that there has been a 40% reduction in Exchequer funding for the agricultural budget since the downturn.

An environment of reduced market support combined with severe market volatility presents a very dangerous cocktail for the future of Irish agriculture and indeed our agri food exports, now worth €11bn annually.

While naive to think that the Government can provide all the solutions, its responsibility in helping put the sector on a much more solid footing cannot be ignored.

We have seen how governments across Europe have responded to the income vulnerability of farmers. In a strategic move, the German government has underpinned the economic fortunes of its farmers by pumping billions of euros into the sector through on-farm renewable energy initiatives.

Meanwhile, in direct response to the collapse in commodity prices, we have seen the French government pump billions of euros on to farms over the past 12 months through a range of measures including subsidised loans, delaying tax bills and state-owned banks delaying loan repayments.

As Pat O’Toole reports on page 8, the IFA, in its pre-budget submission, is calling on the Irish Government to show the same level of commitment to farmers. The submission focuses on two action points: delivering adequate funding for farm schemes and amending the agri taxation policy to reflect market volatility.

The submission document contains a range of innovative agri taxation measures that, if implemented, would help alleviate the immediate income pressure on farmers.

Along with identifying a range of discriminatory elements within the income tax system, the IFA is proposing that Government would amend the five-year income averaging model to allow farmers the option of using their actual income as a basis for their tax payment on two occasions. In a market downturn he/she would have the option of only paying the tax due on the income earned during that year. The underpayment of tax in that year would be carried forward and paid over a three-year period.

Consistently recommending these types of innovative and coherent solutions to real issues has allowed the IFA gain widespread respect within the Department of Finance. The proposal provides an opportunity for Government to not only show that it understands the challenges at farm level, but that it is listening and prepared to respond.

In the context of securing Exchequer support for farm schemes, farmers are fully entitled to position themselves at the top of the queue – no other sector has carried the same burden of cuts during the recession, nor can any other sector demonstrate the ability to deliver a regionally based recovery.

Meanwhile, the IFA is correctly positioning agriculture as part of the solution in Ireland achieving climate change targets in calling for feed-in tariffs for farm-scale renewable energy protects along with tax exemptions on income earned from these projects.

Once again, the IFA pre-budget submission offers Government a suite of well-crafted proposals that, if implemented, would help address the serious challenges facing farmers. Commitments within the programme for Government are at best useful – ultimately a Government’s support for a sector should be measured by budget actions.