Pig farmers can now apply for between €3,000 and €20,000 in funding under the one-off Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme (PEPS), Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced on Monday.

Some €7m worth of funding has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture by the national exchequer to cover the scheme, which will seek to compensate farmers for the unprecedented drop in margins that have seen farmers losing more than €35 per pig.

“The scheme is an urgent emergency response to allow pig farmers to plan for an adjustment to the new market situation. We will seek to issue payments as rapidly as possible,” said Minister McConalogue.

“Irish pig farmers, alongside others across the EU, are currently facing a combination of low prices and extraordinarily high input costs.

"This is why I have moved to put the Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme in place and I am thankful to my cabinet colleagues for approving the funding,” he explained.

The scheme will remain open to applications until Sunday 20 March. Further details can be found here.

A sector in crisis

Teagasc had predicted in mid-February that the average-sized pig farmer was set to lose €450,000 in a 12-month period.

This analysis was conducted before the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacted the cost and supply of farm inputs, such as feed and electricity.

Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Ulster/north Leinster chair Frank Brady had told the Irish Farmers Journal that a €20,000 payment was a “token gesture” after the Minister pledged €7m in funds to the pig sector.

Payment rates

Other supports

Other support measures are available to assist pig farmers in this time, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and chair of the pig roundtable group Martin Heydon.

“This scheme is part of a package of measures to support the sector, including the finance instruments co-funded by my Department through SBCI, particularly the Brexit Impact Loan Scheme and the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, which can be used for working capital and include features which will assist the current financial needs of pig farmers,” Minister Heydon said.

At EU level, a stakeholders group assembled by the Commissioner for Agriculture is due to meet this week to discuss the development of the pig sector into the future.