Immediate action needed on fodder situation

SPEAKING after last Monday’s fodder stakeholders meeting, the Irish Natural and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) president Colm O’Donnell again called on the Minister for Agriculture to act swiftly on the unanimous consensus of those in attendance, that a meal voucher scheme and haulage subsidy be put in place with immediate effect for farmers.

“Department of Agriculture representatives were given a very clear message to inform the Minister of what needs to happen,and needs to happen fast,” stated O’Donnell. “The stakeholders have spoken and it’s now time for a response from the Minister and Government.

“This stakeholders forum, set up by Minister Creed, must not be reduced to a public relations exercise by Government”.

Concluding, the farm leader stated that a DAFM meal voucher scheme where effected farmers could apply for assistance and that could be monitored in the same way as all other DAFM schemes. “Implementing it in this way it would stand up to scrutiny and eliminate possible abuses of the system. Likewise, any transport subsidy must give a benefit to the individual effected farmer and be used to set an affordable upper ceiling price for fodder,” said O’Donnell.

At least 60,000 bales are required to meet the fodder shortage in the north west alone which has extended into counties Monaghan, Cavan and Roscommon, according to Mr. Lorcan McCabe, Deputy President of ICMSA who expressed disappointment at the reluctance of the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine to tackle the crisis.

“It has been five weeks since the last meeting of this group and we came here today [Monday, January 15] expecting action from the Department,” Mr. McCabe said, “but instead we were met with a response of only assessing the situation – how many times must they be told that there is a crisis before they begin to take action?”

He said most farmers in the northwest need 60-80 bales on average to meet their fodder deficit with an estimated total of about 60,000 bales and the Department must make adequate provisions to support these farmers. “We have made consistent recommendations to the Department to subsidise the transport of forage and to introduce vouchers for “fodder stretcher” ration but to date, these suggestions seem to have fallen on deaf ears,” said Mr McCabe.

“Quite clearly at this stage, a Department intervention is required and ICMSA is calling on the Minister to intervene and to introduce measures without delay to support the farmers who are under extreme pressures at present,” concluded Mr. McCabe.

Farm groups have become increasingly critical over the lack of action on the fodder issue.