The survey in this year’s Irish Farmers Journal Agribusiness report in association with KPMG asked respondents if they consider career opportunities in agriculture in their area to be sufficient to attract and retain younger people to the industry.

Two-thirds of those who responded said they did not.

They were then asked to suggest ways of making a career in agriculture more attractive. Among the suggestions were:

  • “Make it viable to have a decent living.”
  • “Incomes are too low compared to other sectors for the amount of work put in.”
  • “Having enough money in the business to pay a good wage and time off. Less than 50 hours a week.”
  • These few comments very much reflect the sentiment expressed by almost all respondents. It is clear that people in the industry think that addressing low pay and long hours is key to attracting new entrants to agriculture.

    Among the other factors cited were access to land for purchase (rather than rental) and the need for more improvements in training.