ICSA Tillage chair Gavin Carberry has said Minister McConalogue must put money on the table if the decline in the area under tillage is to be reversed. “The tillage sector is in dire need of a significant and multi-year financial boost which must be delivered if the Department are serious about meeting the target of increasing the tillage area to 400,000ha by 2030 as part of the Climate Action Plan,” he said.

Mr Carberry was speaking following the publication this week of the Food Vision 2030 Tillage Group Report.

“The actions and recommendations put forward in the report could indeed put the sector on a firmer footing but only if the necessary finance is forthcoming. The promised payment of €100/ha for crops planted in 2024, though welcome, is not nearly enough to stop the rot within the sector following some particularly challenging years. What’s needed is a multiple of that €100/ha and for that payment to continue beyond 2024 and be sustained for at least the next five years.

It’s time to get serious about funding to first stabilise the sector so we can then foster its growth and drive on with meeting the ambitious targets set for tillage. We don’t have any time to lose on this; it is imperative that this report is implemented in full and that a strong financial commitment is issued to ensure that happens.”

Mr Carberry also stressed the importance of collaboration between the tillage and livestock sectors. “To this end a mechanism for facilitating the forward trade in straw would be very helpful. Likewise, allowing tillage farmers to take in farmyard manure that could be spread on land that is then used for the Straw Incorporation Measure would be very beneficial to both tillage and livestock farmers.”

ENDS