The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has criticised the new Innovative Forest Technology Scheme, calling the project “not fit for purpose”.
IFA farm forestry chair Padraig Stapleton made the statement, expressing his concern for how the scheme is designed and the lack of ambition with the budget.
The purpose of the scheme is to encourage the use of specialised forest harvesting and extraction equipment capable of operating on sensitive sites with difficult terrain, particularly those characterised by soft soils and steep slopes.
The specialised equipment will protect these sites and increase operator safety.
Up to four projects per year will be grant aided, with a budget of €50,000 for each. However, Stapleton was critical.
“If the budget is not used, more than four projects may be considered. However, the overall budget is insufficient, given the scale of operations across the country,” he said.
Scheme
The sustainable forest harvesting machinery grant is open to existing experienced operators and providers of forest harvesting and extraction services.
However, Stapleton said it is disappointing that it doesn’t apply to conventional harvesting and forwarding machines.
He added that this scheme had the potential to deliver on improving operator health and safety aspects alone but its scale is unrealistic with such a small allocation.
Read more
Applications open for sustainable forest harvesting machinery grant
Adapting farming to climate change
Students explore the role of forestry in climate change
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has criticised the new Innovative Forest Technology Scheme, calling the project “not fit for purpose”.
IFA farm forestry chair Padraig Stapleton made the statement, expressing his concern for how the scheme is designed and the lack of ambition with the budget.
The purpose of the scheme is to encourage the use of specialised forest harvesting and extraction equipment capable of operating on sensitive sites with difficult terrain, particularly those characterised by soft soils and steep slopes.
The specialised equipment will protect these sites and increase operator safety.
Up to four projects per year will be grant aided, with a budget of €50,000 for each. However, Stapleton was critical.
“If the budget is not used, more than four projects may be considered. However, the overall budget is insufficient, given the scale of operations across the country,” he said.
Scheme
The sustainable forest harvesting machinery grant is open to existing experienced operators and providers of forest harvesting and extraction services.
However, Stapleton said it is disappointing that it doesn’t apply to conventional harvesting and forwarding machines.
He added that this scheme had the potential to deliver on improving operator health and safety aspects alone but its scale is unrealistic with such a small allocation.
Read more
Applications open for sustainable forest harvesting machinery grant
Adapting farming to climate change
Students explore the role of forestry in climate change
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