Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said that we need to build the area of tillage in this country.

He was addressing the latest meeting of the National Fodder and Food Security Committee on Wednesday 8 July where he acknowledged that the tillage area has shrunk.

Minister McConalogue said it was great to see the uptake in relation to the Tillage Incentive Scheme and increasing the area of protein crops and mixed protein crops.

He described the response to the scheme as "encouraging" and explained that it contributed to an additional 6% of tillage area.

Real effort

"Tillage farmers have made a real effort to grow more," he stated.

He said that he wanted to see proposals from the committee on how to increase the tillage area and become more self-sufficient.

He said Ireland should build on the progress that was there and looked for further advice on this.

He also encouraged livestock farmers to use every opportunity that there is to maximise the growth of grass for the rest of the year and take any opportunity they can to save additional fodder where they can get it.