Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that he understands "the huge frustration" among the tillage sector to see imported grains coming into the country at a time when grain prices are so low.

This comes as a group of Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) members gathered in Greenore Port last Friday, protesting over a boatload of grain understood to have come from outside the EU.

At the launch of Bioeconomy Week Ireland in Tullamore on Monday morning, the Minister told the Irish Farmers Journal that he wants to make more progress in the area of quality assurance and the use of native grains.

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"Grain is imported into this country because we only produce about half of what we need and that's not going to change any time soon.

"I absolutely understand the huge frustration there is for a tillage sector to see imported grains come in [at] a time of prices being low.

"The truth is, our tillage sector is currently very vulnerable to world market prices. How we change that is the value-added piece," Minister Heydon said.

Budget

Sustaining the tillage sector into the future, the Minister said, is not "just about a one-day announcement on budget day" or designing a scheme and "throwing out money" - it's about a sustained period of support for the sector.

"It's [the tillage sector] so important to our overall agricultural system. We have to demonstrate the value-added piece.

"It's about quality assurance and monetising that return for farmers and it's about the likes of the use of Irish whiskey. That's the win here.

"It's not just about the financial support - that's one element - it's the structural support that we can get every element of our food production and drink production system to recognise the importance of having a vibrant tillage sector," he said.