Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 October 2018
4. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he is taking for the fodder crisis; the measures he is taking to import high-concentrate foods to make up for fodder shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41636/18]
View answerI thank Deputy McConalogue for facilitating me. I have to attend a meeting of the Business Committee at 10.30 a.m. My question is about the fodder crisis, which is having a severe impact in Tipperary, east Waterford, south Kilkenny and east Cork, as well as other parts of the country. I want to know what measures the Minister is putting in place. I asked in July and he was devoid of answers on how to help distressed farmers.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to inform the House of the actions I have undertaken in seeking to ensure sufficient supplies of fodder for the coming winter and spring of 2019. A survey of fodder supplies in September, conducted on my behalf by Teagasc, indicated that the potential national fodder deficit had reduced from 18% earlier this summer to 11% at that time. Further reductions are anticipated since this survey was conducted as farmers continue to harvest fodder in what has been a productive autumn period on Irish farms.
My priority is to support the conservation of as much fodder for the coming winter as possible from own resources, and to supplement this with necessary imports as required. To achieve this I introduced a number of targeted measures. I introduced a €2.75 million fodder production incentive for tillage farmers to encourage tillage growers to actively engage in the fodder market and there has been very positive uptake of this measure - in the region of 20,000 ha.
I further announced a €4.25 million fodder import support measure for autumn 2018. The measure seeks to reduce the cost to farmers of imported forage. While the measure will operate through the co-operatives and registered importers, the actual beneficiaries will be farmers who need supplies of fodder.
Additionally, I secured agreement from the European Commissioner, Phil Hogan, to pay higher advance Pillar 1 and 2 payments, which will be increased to 70% and 85%, respectively, resulting in €260 million in additional cashflow for farmers at a vital time of the year. Furthermore, following consultation with the European Commission, my Department made some temporary adjustments to the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, for this year and, in consultation with my ministerial colleague, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, a two-week extension of the closed period for the spreading of chemical and organic fertilisers was announced and has allowed farmers capitalise on autumn grass growth for fodder production.
I am confident that the range of measures introduced by me to date, taken together and targeted at producing as much fodder as possible from our own land, is the most effective response to ensuring adequate supplies ahead of the coming winter. I do not propose to introduce measures to support the importation of concentrate feed. However I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to closely monitor and engage on this significant challenge during the coming period.
Animal welfare and sustenance is the most important thing to any farmer, along with crops. Our farmers are excellent at animal husbandry but they are worried and fearful. I note that the Minister has revised the deficit down from 20% to 18%. It is going down every day.
It has now got down to 11%. The Deputy needs to get his facts right.
Two weeks ago the Minister said it was 20% but it is 11% now. I do not know who is providing his figures or where he is getting them from but this is not the real situation on the ground.
Grass is growing.
The reality on the ground is somewhat different. Thankfully, we have had a fortuitous year in terms of growth and I welcome the initiatives for cash crops, as well as the tinkering that there has been with the slurry and so on. Such matters should be based on weather anyway and not tied to calendar dates. As the Minister should know, the weather is all important. He used to be a farmer but he is now totally removed from agriculture. There has been inaction throughout spring and summer.
In all the Deputy's contributions I have not heard a single positive suggestion, which is a continuation of a theme.
The Minister is in charge.
We had this discussion prior to the summer recess and the Deputy's contribution was equally unfocused and lacking in specifics. On the other hand, I have had positive engagement with all the stakeholders, which include farm organisations. All the initiatives Deputy Mattie McGrath denigrates, which have achieved substantial progress for farmers, came from the stakeholder forum. In denigrating the things we have delivered, he denigrates all the stakeholders as well.
I do not denigrate any measures but welcome them, small as they are. I was denigrating the Minister on account of his slowness to take action. I represent farmers in Tipperary and in the whole community. I mentioned the south of the county but up in Cloughjordan, in the north of the county, they were completely burned by the drought. The Minister has made no real efforts to address this. I would love to know what inducements he is giving to stakeholders to come up with the figures he has given us. The situation on the ground is very different and many farmers have huge issues with not having enough fodder and no way of getting funding. The banks effectively are not working and the money announced in last year's budget was not drawn down, while this year's budget was a damp squib for agriculture. Suckler herds are on their knees and farmers in that sector wanted €200 per cow but the Minister gave them €40 but one must weigh calves and their mothers, meaning the farmers must spend €50 to get €40. The Minister's treatment of farmers is farcical.
The west has not been badly affected and it may be possible to get fodder from there, in a reversal of what normally happens. The Minister's inaction is disgraceful and whoever is manipulating them for him, his figures are not real.
The Deputy should reflect seriously on the accusation he has made against Teagasc to the effect that it has manipulated figures. It conducted a national fodder survey, the veracity of which has been accepted by all stakeholders. I accept that within the national deficit of 11%, there are individual holdings where it is higher. The best outcome from the stakeholder forum was the advice from the advisory services, namely, Teagasc, private advisers or co-operatives. The Deputy should reflect on his charge that a State organisation has manipulated figures.
It has questions to answer.
The Deputy is seeking a cheap headline. It is rather unfortunate to try to make a cheap political point on the backs of farmers, who have had an extremely difficult year.
The farmers have sleepless nights. Certain others do not.
It is a hit-and-run effort by Deputy Mattie McGrath. He will not even stay for the rest of Question Time.
The Minister does not even run or hit.
