Macra wants to raise the age of a ‘young farmer’ to 40 years old.

It has submitted CAP proposals to Government in response to the Department of Agriculture’s public consultation on proposed interventions on Ireland’s CAP strategic plan 2023-2027.

It wants the five-year rule to be removed and to ensure 3% minimum is secured for direct payments and supports under Pillar II payments is additional.

It wants to cater for the forgotten young farmer cohort by granting access to the same supports for all young farmers.

Definition

Macra wants to define the robust active farmer to ensure payments are received by those actively farming the land.

It has proposed to stop internal convergence at 85% and that convergence should only be applied on after a fair wage has been deducted.

Macra calls for gender equality in CAP by acknowledging the women who are already farming and creating women-specific knowledge transfer (KT) groups.

It wants funding for KT groups and discussion groups payments which have a certain percentage of actively farming females within the group.

Macra wants further research into gender imbalance in Irish agriculture and research into changes to manufacturing and innovation with women in mind.

Crucial time

Macra na Feirme national president John Keane commented: “The changes made in this crucial time will have a long-lasting impact on the future of Irish farming for years to come.

“It is vital that the minister and his Department deliver a CAP that delivers for young farmers and their future,” he added.

Chair of Macra na Feirme agricultural affairs committee Shane Fitzgerald reiterated: “The contribution that young farmers will make to the environmental challenge over the next number of years cannot be underestimated.

“It is of the utmost importance that generational renewal is facilitated and supported as much as possible in the Government’s CAP strategic plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry, while also building a strong foundation to ensure we meet our national climate targets,” he insisted.

Young farmers were invited to attend the farm walk events, which were held physically across the country, and had the opportunity to attend a virtual CAP consultation to express their views.