Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 13 Nov 1991

Vol. 412 No. 6

Written Answers. - Farmer Statistics.

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

85 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of full-time farmers in the country for each of the last ten years; the number of farmers presently aged 25 years or less; the projected number of full-time farmers in the country by the year 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. O'Kennedy)

The definition of a full-time farmer is open to a number of interpretations and different data will be obtained from different sources.

The Labour Force Survey carried out by the Central Statistics Office provides the most complete set of annual data over the period since 1980 and from this source the following data of farmer numbers, which is the most recent available, is obtained:

Labour Force Survey

1980	No survey
1981	139,000
1982	No survey
1983	133,500
1984	130,400
1985	119,000
1986	126,300
1987	120,000
1988	121,900
1989	119,900

These figures relate to all persons classifying themselves as farmers. No similar series is available for full-time farmers alone.

According to the 1986 Census of Population 4,929 or 3 per cent of farmers were under 25 years of age in that year. I await the results of the 1991 Census for more up-to-date information.

The Central Statistics Office has not carried out any separate examination of farmer numbers as part of their general projection of population to the year 2000.

A decline in the numbers of farmers has been part of a worldwide trend in developed economies in recent decades. Ireland, like other countries, has experienced such a decline, which has occurred as a result of improved farming technology and greater efficiency in agriculture generally. In recent years the decrease in this country has averaged between 1 per cent and 2 per cent per annum and it may be expected that this level of decline will continue. The low proportion of farmers under the age of 25 years does not of itself suggest a serious future decline because very many of the young people engaged in agriculture are doing so in informal partnership with a parent and so do not appear in official statistics as farmers.