The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, has commended the “heroic efforts” by farmers in keeping food supply chains open during the pandemic. The IFA’s president, Tim Cullinan, said that under proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap), farmers are facing a cut of up to 30 per cent in their basic payment in 2023, in order to fund “so-called” eco schemes. Saying “I hear you loud and clear”, the Taoiseach said the Government would do the best it could in the negotiations on Cap and climate change to create rewards for farmers who introduced practices that contributed to the EU’s and Ireland’s goals on climate change. The “cheap food” environment that existed was a “huge challenge”, and the consumer was not challenged enough about the cost of producing quality food, he said. The Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, said no one was underestimating the challenges that delays in the licencing process were creating for farmers who wanted to plant, thin or harvest trees.

Source: The Irish Times January 28, 2021 18:07 UTC