Young people won't choose farming without a decent income - ICSA

Generational renewal begins with ensuring that today's family farms remain viable, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Sean McNamara has said.

He said that the discussions at this week's ‘Securing the Future of Farming’ interparliamentary conference highlighted issues that are central to the future of agriculture, but said that none of these ambitions can be achieved without viable family farms.

"We have heard a lot this week about food security, generational renewal and the role of women in agriculture. All of these issues are important. But now those words have to mean something. Everything we want from agriculture depends on viable family farms."

The ICSA president said that there is little point talking about attracting the next generation into farming if the current generation is struggling to make a living.

Young people will not commit to a future in farming unless they can see that it offers a decent income and a worthwhile career, therefore it must be economically viable for them, he explained.

CAP

McNamara stated that the next CAP must put farm viability at the centre of its priorities to provide farm families with the resources to allow them to make a decent living, invest in their businesses and plan for the future.

“The future CAP cannot simply become a vehicle for placing additional obligations on farmers.”

The Irish Government now has an important role to play in ensuring that the priorities discussed this week are reflected in the next CAP, he urged.

“Ireland has to make the case that these ambitions depend on economically sustainable family farms.

“The Government must be prepared to fight for a properly funded CAP and ensure that Ireland is helping to shape the outcome rather than simply responding to decisions made elsewhere.”

“It means creating the conditions that allow one generation to hand over a viable farm business to the next and giving young people the confidence that farming offers a real future.

“Without viable family farms there can be no meaningful generational renewal. If Europe wants a new generation of farmers, then it has to make farming a future people can believe in."