asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state definitely the policy of the Government regarding compulsory tillage.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Compulsory Tillage Policy.
So long as compulsory powers in respect of other occupations in Ireland are unnecessary I do not see why they should be invoked against farmers, more especially as I am satisfied that the greatly increased acreage of barley, oats, root crops, and grass crops which our economy requires will be better produced by the farmers acting on their own initiative rather than under my or anybody else's orders.
It is, however, intended to make available adequate supplies of fertilisers, seeds and agricultural machinery, for the want of which tillage farmers have been so seriously handicapped in the past.
asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state whether it is the Government's policy to discontinue compulsory wheat-growing in the years immediately ahead.
Unless some unforeseeable contingency causes acute scarcity of one or more essential foodstuffs it is not the Government's intention to coerce farmers in the carrying on of their business any more than it is to coerce doctors, industrialists or trade unionists in carrying on theirs.