Policies dominate

My article in the October issue dealt with Ireland’s lack of self-sufficiency around food, especially fruit and vegetables. So, I was intrigued – and delighted – to see RTÉ’s excellent show, How to Shop Well Now, broadcast shortly after publication. The show covered the Government’s lack of policy in addressing the dramatic reduction in our horticultural businesses and the role of supermarkets in their demise. Will the spotlight make a difference? I very much hope that politicians have seen, heard, and will take action.

Uptake of smart farm technology

In a previous issue, I questioned if the Government had a plan-B to deal with power outages, whether accidental, or by targeted attack, particularly in relation to the use of smart machinery and technology. On reflection, I didn’t need to worry too much as Enable Research estimates only 15 per cent of Irish farms use high-end precision machinery and the European Agricultural Machinery Association (CEMA) states that Ireland’s uptake of heavy precision hardware lags behind grain-producing countries like France, Germany, and Denmark. Even so, overall adoption of smart technology in the EU is poor, with an article in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Research stating that fewer than 25 per cent of EU farmers are using precision machinery or smart farm technologies (SFT). Where it is used, it is predominantly by large-scale enterprises in countries where farms tend to be over 100 hectares.
With reduced Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments, farmers cannot survive without incorporating SFT into their day-to-day farming practices, so they must change or go out of business. Brussels are masters at getting farming organisations battling for financial help when a crisis occurs, but what are their policies to help small farmers, who make up a large percentage of the EU farming sector, become more productive? What we need now is for the Government and by that, I mean the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), to immediately adopt policies to encourage the use of SFT, through the introduction of substantial grants. However, in doing so, they must recognise that, since the introduction of mechanisation, small farmers turned to agricultural contractors when it was not economically viable for them to purchase expensive machinery. It is fair to say that without the considerable financial investment made by agricultural contractors over the years, the agricultural sector in Ireland would have collapsed. The DAFM needs to acknowledge the vital role that agricultural contractors have and continue to play and, in the national interest, include contractors in all machinery grants that are available to farmers. If the DAFM needs any convincing of the success of SFT then they need to study those EU countries that have embraced it. Before I hear the shout that Ireland has adopted SFT, let’s be clear that it has only been embraced in certain areas and grants are restricted and not open to agricultural contractors. If they were included and invested in SFT, the benefits would be available to all their clients, giving farmers a much-needed boost in productivity while at the same time reducing their inputs.
I do believe there are department officials who would agree with me and my hope is that they can influence a change in policy that would have such a positive effect on Ireland’s agricultural output.