Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has said that fully utilising the opportunities and advantages of a strong tillage sector must be a priority for both the Irish Government and the European Commission.
MEP Kelleher was speaking following a meeting with the Irish Grain Growers Association in Brussels last week.
“The tillage sector, plus our forestry sector, are the only sectors of Irish agriculture where there is a clearly stated objective of increasing its size. The Tillage Strategy calls for an increase to 400,000 ha under tillage by 2030,” said MEP Kelleher.
“This target will be hard to reach unless we incentivise the sector and the regulators and authorities take their feet off the necks of tillage farmers.
“We still place too many onerous targets on this vitally important sector. Following my meeting today, it’s clear that grain growers are hungry for innovation and are well placed to meet any and all environmental objectives that are asked of them.
“They are acutely aware of the importance of biodiversity for their own livelihoods and of the future of the planet. The evidence is clear from their work on reducing and eliminating pesticide usage on oilseed and rapeseed crops where bee and insect numbers have rebounded in recent years.
“All they want is a fair crack at making a decent living. They are keen to move to a system of adding value to their produce to ensure that they retain a competitive advantage over imports from non-EU markets.
“One of the key issues also raised by the IGGA representatives was the issue of further convergence in CAP payments. Convergence measures to date have seen 7% of tillage farmers lose income. This must not be allowed to continue,” he said.
“This was a very informative and interesting meeting and I look forward to engaging further with grain growers, and the wider tillage sector, into the future, especially in relation to their plans for new and innovative pilot schemes,” concluded MEP Kelleher.
