Boosting the CAP budget, simplifying farm schemes and ensuring farmers get a fair share of the agri-food profits were some of the solutions to farming’s income challenges floated by candidates participating in the Irish Farmers Journal live debate.

Teagasc’s most recent Sustainability report showed that 41% of the country’s farms were considered economically vulnerable or non-viable farm businesses.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Independent Ireland’s Eddie Punch both called for an increase to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget to support farmers through schemes.

“Ireland has to make a definite decision that we’re contributing more to a higher CAP [budget]. CAP is currently 0.36% of the EU GDP, that’s really low compared to the 0.54% in the 1990s,” said Punch.

“Farmers are being shortchanged by a reduction in the CAP in real terms and by convergence as well.”

Echoing Punch’s sentiment, Sinn Féin’s Martin Kenny said the delay in scheme payments has pushed vulnerable farmers further into the red.

“Most of them in that vulnerable section wouldn’t survive at all, but for the money they get from these schemes. And all of those schemes are delayed, cumbersome and difficult. The Government and particularly the Department have control over that, every time they screw it up.”

In addition, Kenny pointed to the low prices for farming produce as another reason for low farming incomes, however, the Green Party’s Pippa Hackett said that the Government is not in charge of market prices.

She suggested that the Department should be focusing on lowering the input costs instead of the output gains.

“We have started looking at things that if you manage your soil, diverse species of grass, plant hedges, manage your riparian margins then you make farms resilient to flooding, you make farms resilient to drought. Those are the issues that affect farmers on the ground now and we can help that.”