Farmers have put their hands up for a slice of Ireland’s allocation of the €1bn Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) funding. Last Friday, IFA made a submission to the Department of Agriculture in relation to the allocation of funds from the (BAR).

This comes after a series of announcements by the Minister for Agriculture of funding allocations for the fisheries sector and coastal communities utilising BAR funding. Ireland has been allocated almost €1bn in funding between 2022 and 2023 from the €5.4bn EU BAR.

IFA Analysis

The submission includes a comprehensive analysis of the impact of Brexit across the main farming sectors which is well evidenced.

It shows that almost €600m in lost revenue in the agri food sector has been attributed to sterling weakening and corresponding reduced trade.

Output prices were found to be impacted by atypical seasonal trends while production costs, in particular those sourced in or via the UK, increased post Brexit.

No sector has been immune from Brexit, while some such as beef and mushrooms have been, and are likely to continue to be, disproportionately impacted. The anticipated medium to long-term impact of Brexit is the big unknown.

The challenge is to mitigate for an eventuality which is somewhat unquantifiable at this point.

Full Brexit impact yet to come

Analysis by the Economic Social and Research Institute shows that Irish imports from and exports to Great Britain declined sharply following Brexit.

However, they found that the effect on exports is not statistically significant, which is likely due to the phased implementation of customs checks by the UK. They suggest that it may take further time for the full effects of Brexit to materialise.

The fact is that the worst may yet be ahead for key sectors of Irish agrifood, in particular beef.

The industry will have to decide if whittling away the available funding across a range of schemes, with something for most farmers, provides long term cover from the full effects of Brexit.

Would the industry be better served by fundamentally restructuring the suckler beef sector in the hope of a reasonable and attractive livelihood for farmers into the future?

In terms of giving something to everyone in the audience, carbon baselining all farms, as is underway in Northern Ireland, would provide a basis for developing future income streams for all.

Ultimately, a plan for the agri food sector, similar to that produced by the Seafood Sector Task Force is long overdue. There are plenty of challenges and indeed opportunities that require investment in Irish farming today.

However, when the BAR funding is spent, those with most to lose must look back from a more secure position knowing that the BAR funding was well spent.

What is proposed?

The IFA submission includes a broad spectrum of proposals which offer something for most farming sectors. It includes measures to:

  • Mitigate lost revenue which include direct, targeted financial aid to compensate for lost income resulting from weakening of sterling, atypical seasonal demand or other Brexit costs.
  • Mitigate increased cost of production which include support aid related to increased cost of production arising from Brexit and capital grants to improve on-farm efficiency, reduce costs and increase resilience.
  • Support reduced input use through improving soil health and animal health, including a proposed liming programme to support good soil structure, the introduction of a protected urea scheme and investment in grass measuring and paddock establishment. On the animal health front, more targeted use of antibiotics and antiparasitics with a knock-on effect of lowering farm costs.
  • Mitigate reduced on-farm investment to preserve and promote existing on-farm operations across all farm systems through the provision of low-cost financial products, capital grant aid for farm improvement and farm development.
  • Promote increased income diversification including support to increase grain production, new farm enterprises, capital grants for investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Mitigate intergenerational renewal including installation aid type support, funding for a mentorship type programme, supports for income diversification, funding for a Sustainable Development Programme for farm scale and community based renewables.
  • Mitigate increased consumer prices including feasibility study on the resumption of flour milling and implementation of the same.