The new commission on generational renewal has to focus on farm income levels and farmer viability, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced his intention to establish a commission on generational renewal in farming ahead of this year's Tullamore Show, which took place on Sunday.
Farmer viability and income levels, IFA president Francie Gorman argued, are key to attracting the next generation into farming.
“This commission cannot be a talking shop. Unless we can attract the next generation into farming, we are facing an existential crisis in the sector.
"Before the Tullamore Show, I highlighted that less than 7% of farmers are under the age of 35, a figure which has more or less halved in the last 20 years.
Reverse the trend
“Unless we reverse this trend, farming and the wider rural economy will go into long-term terminal decline,” Gorman said.
The 2023 Teagasc national farm survey highlighted the vulnerability of family farm incomes, Gorman argued, with just 28% of all farms classed as viable. For suckler farms, it’s even lower at 11%.
“There is no doubt that the income challenges, as well as the increasing regulatory burden, are putting the next generation off.
“This commission has to focus on these two issues as a matter of priority; without a viable future for the current generation, there is little or no chance of successors coming through,” the IFA president concluded.
Commission on generational renewal in farming proposed by Minister