It is unthinkable that the agriculture sector would continue to have 5% or less of farmers under the age of 35 over the life of the CAP Strategic Plan, according to Macra na Feirme.

Macra president John Keane said: “The number of young farmers involved in farming by 2027 will be the litmus test for the success of this CAP and its delivery on the objective of generational renewal.”

Keane was speaking following a meeting between the farm organisaions, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and department officials to discuss the CAP on Wednesday.

Deliver for young farmers

Keane insisted on the delivery of a CAP that will provide for young farmers and their futures.

He said the requirement for demonstrative generational renewal will be key for the European Commission and that it will be “the department’s best chance of getting the CAP Strategic Plan through the Brussels system”.

He called for the department to deliver on a “suite of measures” proposed by Macra to address the barriers to entry for young people entering agriculture.

Targets

Following the meeting with Minister McConalogue, Keane said the Department must set targets to increase the number of young farmers in Ireland because “we can’t manage what we don’t measure”.

He added: “There are targets for everything but there are no targets in place for the farmer demographic make up at the end of this CAP.

Unthinkable

Macra chief executive Denis Duggan said: “It is unthinkable that the sector would remain at 5% or less of farmers under 35 over the life of this CAP.”

Macra pointed to ESRI data which shows that 30% of the overall national workforce is under the age of 35. Keane said agriculture and farming are a “complete outlier”.

Keane said Macra has made an “impassioned plea” to Minster McConalogue to ensure that the sector is “dynamic and vibrant” by setting an ambitious target to have at least 30% of farmers under 35, similar to other sectors in the economy.