CAP 2028 farmer reaction: 'do they want us to be gardeners or farmers?'

Louise Crowley, IFA Limerick county chair

“Farmers are feeling that we don’t know how much money is going to be in the fund. Then there’s a fear of what are people going to have to do to actually get the payments and get the money from CAP.

“They made a point of saying that they would support young farmers and female farmers. My worry is what red tape is going to be surrounding that for those groups to actually avail of the support. It’s very easy to say there’s going to be funding, but the best thing that they can do is take away the uncertainty.

“There’s so much coming at farmers at the moment, you can’t get your head around it.”

Maurice Brady, IFA Cavan county chair

“We still want Pillar I and Pillar II as they were. We definitely don’t need less money – rather we’re looking for more money. The key thing is that it’s all proposals at the minute and it’s all up in the air. I’d be hoping for a different outcome when it comes to crunch time.

“There are a lot of negotiations to be done between now and 2026. There’s a lot of work to be done by the Government and everyone else to turn the proposals around. That’s what we’re hoping will happen”.

Stephen Canavan, IFA Galway county chair

“We’re extraordinarily worried… I’m not too sure it was too well thought out. Particularly in Ireland where the number of farmers is declining for certain, the age profile of the farmers is high and numbers of sucklers and sheep are declining at an alarming rate.

“Amalgamating the money into one fund and doing away with Pillar II is a huge mistake. That money was for environmental schemes and schemes for sectors like sucklers and sheep, and if that’s not ringfenced, we fear for futures of farmers in the west of Ireland if it is realised.

“In the west, we’re all in areas of natural constraint. It’s been recognised for a long time that we have difficult terrain, difficult weather conditions, fragmented land, lesser quality land.

“Why doesn’t the Commission come forward and say what they want us to do with our land. Do they want us to be gardeners or farmers? It’s going to be very difficult to be both”.

Michael Purcell, IFA Carlow county chair

“The ball is just thrown in, the game is just started. There’s a long way to go still until there’s any decision made. Any of the CAP reforms or decisions that have been made up to now were made at the last minute. I think this is going to be the same because there are so many issues there. The Minister [for Agriculture] seems to have a good rapport with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen and you’d be hoping that will help in the negotiations.”

Joe Sweeney, IFA Donegal county chair

“The proposals to cut anyone that reaches pension age out of single farm payments and out of farming is below the belt and a low blow. The average age of farmers in Ireland is 59 and they want to put anyone over the age of 66 out of getting a payment. It’s totally wrong. They’re forgetting why the payment was there in the first place, to secure food. It doesn’t make sense.”

Donald Scully, ICMSA national council member

“The age profile in farming is very different to any other business. The proposals to cut payments to farmers receiving a pension puts the sector in a tricky scenario considering the age profile.

“We need to look at generational renewal and encourage young people to get involved. We also need to simplify a sector that is complicated and underpinned for a long time. There is a lot of paperwork and constraints, and farmers are being asked to do more for less.

“The subsidies from CAP have stagnated trade. We are getting subsidies to reduce the cost of production, and we are a long way out from where we started 20 years ago to where we are now.

“Ireland has some of the best quality food in the world and we export about 90% of what we produce and feed about 50 to 60m people.

“If the payments keep reducing, farmers will start to view the CAP payments as irrelevant and will throw them to one side. There will be no incentive for individuals to keep up the payments.”

Mona O’Donoghue Concannon, ICSA life focus chair

“The fact that they’re talking about payment cuts to older farmers can’t be let go. It’s not fair on the older farmers who have built up their businesses to be excluded. I would be completely against that. I do agree there needs to be measures for young farmers in it [CAP], but I think we have to go with a different approach on how we’re going to make it work for both sides. The actual cut on the budget is not sustainable for Irish agriculture… we have to fight tooth and nail to retain what we have and make it work going forward.”

Joan Lonergan, ICMSA Farm Business Committee “The new CAP deal is very concerning. Agricultural funding needs to be stand alone. This is vital for food production and food security. Farmers are going to suffer the loss under these new proposals which is ironic as the CAP was designed to support us, the farmer, through food security with a stable farm income. The new CAP programme is telling us farmers we are not valued, the ever-moving bar they set for us will never be reached in terms of environment. It’s moving away from the family farm model, and pushing the part-time farmer out.”