Phil Hogan
Question:133 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will carry out a study of the increase in the cost of farm inputs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4857/04]
View answerWednesday, 18 February 2004
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Written answers
The Central Statistics Office, CSO, produces annual estimates of the value of farm inputs at aggregate level in the output, input and income in agriculture. According to the CSO's preliminary estimate for 2003 the value of farm inputs increased by 0.8% to €3,148.7 million.
The national farm survey produced by Teagasc is an in-depth survey which measures farm incomes across the main farming systems on an annual basis. In 2002 the latest year in which data is available 1,176 farms were surveyed representing 116,400 farms. The survey found that in 2002, overall direct costs, inputs, increased by 5% on all systems.
In 2003, I commissioned an independent report from FAPRI-Ireland on the effects of the CAP mid-term review agreement and the Commission's WTO proposals on agriculture. The study examines three decoupling scenarios with FAPRI's baseline, no policy change, model for Irish agriculture in the period to 2012. FAPRI found that following the introduction of full decoupling in all member states there would be a reduction in input costs brought about by lower animal numbers and more extensive production.