Macra, with the support of IFAC Accountants – our partners for young farmer development groups in Ireland and Europe – recently participated in a seminar and working group organised by the Finnish young farmer organisation MTK in Helsinki.

The ‘Future Seminar for Rural Entrepreneurs’ focused on the challenges facing young people trying to enter farming and how measures adopted in different member states helped address accessibility to land, credit, advisory services and education and training.

CEJA vice president Alan Jagoe participated in a panel discussion. The Helsinki declaration calling for support for young farmers was agreed and it is available to view in the download section of www.macra.ie.

As part of the visit, Macra also collected and examined information on member state laws concerning farm transfers to compare them with the Irish system. The analysis concluded that their laws are, broadly speaking, similar in terms of impact to those in Ireland. On this basis, Macra is still of the view that there is justification for an investment-led Installation package for young farmers in Ireland.