CAP has become “clunky” and schemes are being designed to “meet the requirements of auditors”.

This view of the EU farm supports programme was delivered by Brendan Dunford of Burrenbeo at the recent Irish Rural History and Policy Conference.

Dunford claimed that CAP needed to become “more agile to be effective” for both farmers and the environment.

Opportunity to 'revitalise' CAP

He told the conference, which was held in Limerick's Mary Immaculate College, that there was a “massive opportunity around the environment to revitalise and re-energise CAP”. He said the growing demand for locally-produced food was an obvious example of where CAP supports needed to be moving.

Meanwhile, rural anthropologist Dr Terry McFadden claimed that compensating plantation owners for losses incurred due to ash dieback will not rehabilitate forestry in the eyes of farmers.

The conference heard that farmer afforestation levels had dropped to around 330ha last year - the lowest level since forestry supports had been introduced.

Farmers' 'sense of themselves' a barrier

The controversy around ash dieback was cited as a factor, but McFadden disagreed. He said that research he had undertaken showed that farmers' sense of themselves as keepers of the land - and their standing within the community in this role - was a far more significant barrier to afforestation.

How farmers perceive themselves and their role within the rural community needs to be fully appreciated by policy makers, McFadden insisted.

The requirement to retain land in forestry in perpetuity was also identified as a serious impediment to increased levels of planting.

Former Teagasc director, Gerry Boyle, claimed that the requirement on landowners to replant ground was the biggest disincentive to afforestation for most farmers.

Describing farmers as “hugely rational”, Boyle maintained that they would plant lands if there was an economic return. He said forestry should therefore be treated like any other crop.

Forcing farmers to commit lands indefinitely to forestry was a mistake, the former Teagasc director maintained.

Former Teagasc director, Gerry Boyle, claimed that the requirement on landowners to replant ground was the biggest disincentive to afforestation for most farmers

Sean Finan of the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) called for a real discussion around land use. He said the conflicting demands for land for food production, forestry, rewetting, rewilding and renewable energy illustrated the need for such a discussion.

Finan also told the conference that the 'just transition' proposals for the midland bogs needed to be broadened out to cover much more of the country, given the likely impact of climate change initiatives.