Macra welcomes increased commitment for land mobility service in 2022
At the Macra na Feirme Agricultural Conference on Friday, November 26, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, TD announced a 100% increase in funding for the Land Mobility Service – an independent facilitated service that matches young farmers and older farmers wanting to create collaborative farming arrangements.
Speaking via Zoom to the conference, the Minister said: “The Land Mobility Service has been one of the great success stories of agricultural policy over the past few years. I am a firm believer in using all the tools at our availability to leverage generational renewal. Funding through CAP supports young farmers, but initiatives such as the Land Mobility service are crucial. I am a firm supporter of the service and I know that as we transition through the next decade, the need to have an agile and fit-for-purpose Land Mobility Service will be crucial. The Department has provided annual funding to the Land Mobility Service of €50,000 and this has remained unchanged since its inception.”
Minister McConalogue continued to announce an increase in funding for the Land Mobility Service in 2022 saying “I am pleased to announce that following positive engagement between John and his team, I have decided to increase the Department’s contribution by 100% for the year 2022. This is another clear example of my commitment to facilitating generational renewal in our sector.”
Responding to the announcement Macra na Feirme national president, John Keane said “We welcome the additional increase in funding for the Land Mobility Service. This funding recognises the continued role that a land mobility service can actively play in generational renewal. We look forward to the proposed engagement with the Department and Teagasc on the future of the Land Mobility Service, and to continuing our engagement with the Department about the role that the Land Mobility Service can play in the context of supporting the achievement of objectives of generational renewal within the future Common Agricultural Policy.
Commenting on recent announcements relating to CAP, Minister McConalogue noted “There has been a 50% increase in the national envelope ringfenced for young farmers rising from 2% to 3%. I am ensuring that the National Reserve will remain open for young farmers too. The higher rate of 60% for young, trained farmers under TAMS will also be in place. I have also proposed to lift the TAMS investment ceiling from €80,000 to €90,000 in order to support farmers to make investments on their farms in light of rising costs. I have a review into TAMS costings ongoing which I expect will be completed shortly.”
The conference also heard from Diana Lenzi, president of CEJA, the European Council of Young Farmers who represents over 2 million young farmers across Europe. Diana outlined some of the common challenges facing all young European farmers, such as access to land and access to credit. Commenting at the conference, Diana said: “There are three traditional roadblocks for young farmers. Access to land, credit and knowledge and skills. We cannot tackle land access or knowledge without access to credit and financing. If we do not solve the issues of land access and credit access in particular we will not have a cohort of young farmers entering the sector across Europe.”
In response to a question about the challenges facing young women entering agriculture, Diana said: “It is important to speak up and be the voice of our own interests. We often hear a lot of policy makers speaking about young female farmers, but they are doing it without the knowledge of the challenges facing young female farmers. Young female farmers want to have the tools to address the barriers facing young women entering agriculture.”
The CEJA president also highlighted the importance in other EU member states of installation aid to support young farmers establishing their farming enterprises upon entry to the sector. Ireland is one of only five member states where young farmers do not receive installation aid or start-up business support. Macra na Feirme president John Keane has regularly called for start-up business supports in the next CAP for young farmers entering agriculture.
Eoin Lowry, head of Agri with Bank of Ireland addressed the conference and outlined the measures that the bank is taking to support young farmers, including through investment lending to meet the climate challenge such as slurry storage, low emission slurry spreading, labour saving devices, etc. In an encouraging note to the Macra na Feirme Conference, Eoin advised: “With greater investment on farms, we can improve the climate footprint of our farms. Bank of Ireland is the oldest bank in Ireland, we have banked generations of Irish farmers, and it’s important for us to continue to support generational renewal. We would encourage young farmers to not be afraid to talk to their bank early, along with having their accountant on board with their future plans.”
Declan McEvoy, head of Tax with IFAC Accountants, cautioned that young farmers need to have a business plan that looks at the improvements and financing that is required to ensure the sustainability and viability of family farmers. In response to questions from RTE Countrywide’s Damien O’Reilly, Declan commented: “Unless a farm is invested in annually, it will stagnate. That is the same for any business. One of the single biggest barriers at the moment, is access to land and the cost of land. With the complexities of running farm enterprises today, it is important that young farmers engage with their accountant early regarding their plans.”
Addressing questions on succession, Declan said “A plan in the head is not a plan. Communication is critical 5-10 years out from when the older farmer has a desired step back. It’s also important for the older farmer to realise that the young farmer may have different way or farming methodologies. It’s also important to bring the wider family into the communication. While the asset may be valuable, in most cases, the young farmer in a succession plan, in most cases is only making a living and not a fortune, which is often forgotten in family discussions. Communication, and the lack of open discussion is probably the single biggest barrier to successful farm succession.”
In response to a question on succession, Declan said “The succession partnership credit is a good starting point to build a succession package for both the transferor and the transferee. It needs to be encouraged and adapted to become more user friendly and should go for the full five years once signed up to. The €5000 credit is good, but why not have a five-year succession top up to BISS etc to allow a smooth handover/transition of the business.”
Macra na Feirme’s National Conference is supported by Macra Agricultural Skillnet who provide education, training and continuous professional development opportunities to young farmers and those in the working in agri food industry. More information of the courses and programmes available from Macra Agricultural Skillnet are available on www.macraskillnet.ie.