Naas to host summit on generational renewal in farming
AgRenew Ireland conference organised by ICOS with Irish Presidency of EU
'New Blood, Stronger Farming' is the theme of a high-level summit focused on the critical issue of next generation farming which will take place in Naas, Co Kildare on 5th November next. The AgRenew Ireland Summit is organised by the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) in association with the Golden Jubilee Trust and the Irish Presidency of the EU.
The summit will be opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, with a range of guest speakers. The EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen will also speak to the gathering, from Brussels.
Only four per cent of Irish farmers are under 35, while 37 per cent are over 65. Many hurdles stand in the way of young people smoothly taking over the running of the family farm and subsequently getting involved in their local co-operative. Across Europe, the average farmer age is 57 while just one in 30 are women farmers under the age of 40.
The AgRenew Ireland Summit, supported by the Golden Jubilee Trust, brings together key stakeholders with the fundamental aim of addressing the challenges facing willing young farmers and finding legitimate and workable pathways to securing the next generation of farmers and co-op leaders.
Panelists will include young farmers, academics, politicians and co-op leaders. It will culminate in a series of dedicated breakout sessions aimed at assembling constructive proposals to support new blood and stronger farming into the future.
The barriers to generational renewal are wide and varied from access to land, access to finance, red tape and bureaucracy. In a changing world, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change, market volatility and stricter rules and regulations have added further challenges for young people who want to dedicate their lives to working the land for a living.
This summit will hear directly from young farmers who have overcome these challenges and are creating a future for themselves on the family farm.
Speaking at the launch of the summit at government buildings, ICOS President Edward Carr said: “Generational Renewal was not a phrase we often heard in the past but now it is front and centre to every discussion and debate about the future of farming both in Ireland and across Europe. We need to get serious about tackling the main barriers which are turning young people away at the farm gate. This summit brings together sharp minds from Ireland and abroad and we will hear real life stories from farmers young and old about the challenges and the solutions for the next generation of farmers and food producers. We know what the challenges are, we know the age profile of farmers, and we have the reports at national and EU level to back that up. What is needed now is action and this summit will look to focus on the immediate workable solutions to speed up the process of getting new blood into farming.”
Minister Martin Heydon said, “The challenge of generational renewal in farming is widely recognised at both national and EU level. It is important that we have skilled, innovative young farmers coming into the sector to secure a viable and sustainable future for Irish farming. In Budget 2027 we have reformed Succession Farm Partnerships as recommended by the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming and recommendations around CAP supports are being considered in the context of the next round, post 2027.
“Under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 there is substantial investment in achieving generational renewal and measures include the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers’ Scheme, to help young farmers establish their farming businesses, the TAMS capital investment measure, where a higher grant rate of 60% for qualified young farmers is available. We must ensure farming offers a rewarding and sustainable livelihood for the next generation. As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we have an important opportunity to advance this issue at European level. I welcome this initiative by ICOS and the Golden Jubilee Trust to bring together key stakeholders, identify practical solutions and help young people build their futures in Irish agriculture.”
Joe Collins, chair of The Golden Jubilee Trust said: “The Golden Jubilee Trust is very pleased to support the AgRenew Ireland Summit, which addresses one of the most important challenges facing the future of Irish farming and the co-operative movement. The Trust has a long-standing commitment to supporting education, research and innovation that strengthens Irish agriculture and co-operatives. Generational renewal is central to that mission. We need to encourage fresh thinking and new ideas while building on the knowledge and experience of established farmers. This summit is a great opportunity to bring generations together, identify solutions and help to secure a strong and sustainable future for Irish farming and our co-operatives.”
Macra Conference
At the weekend, Macra President Josephine O’Neill called on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to ‘wake up’ to the scale of the generational renewal challenge in farming.
In her address to the Taoiseach at Macra’s national conference in Adare on Saturday 24th October, the President said that meaningful progress on generational renewal has been painfully slow.
O'Neill encouraged the Taoiseach to be a 'H1 student' who delivers a Common Agricultural Policy post-2027 that genuinely secures a future for young farmers.
“Generational renewal must become a national priority, supported by meaningful domestic policies and funding. Taoiseach, your government cannot simply point towards Brussels and hope that Europe will solve a problem that requires action here at home. You need to wake up to the scale of this challenge before we sleepwalk into a crisis from which Irish agriculture may struggle to recover,” President O’Neill said.
With the Common Agricultural Policy post-2027 a central focus of Macra’s national conference, the Macra president said that we need a CAP budget that can actually deliver on its ambitions and that provides 10% ring-fenced funding for young farmers.
An ambitious and meaningful Starter Pack for young farmers must also be delivered. And at the very heart of that Starter Pack must be Installation Aid.
“For far too long, Macra has been calling for this vital support. And yet, Ireland has continued to fail to provide the dedicated Installation Aid, a support that Macra has consistently advocated for. We cannot continue to put our young farmers at a competitive disadvantage compared with their European counterparts. We cannot expect young Irish farmers to compete on a level playing field if we refuse to give them the same opportunities.”
Another key demand outlined by the president in the next CAP is the introduction of a dedicated succession scheme.
“Succession is one of the greatest barriers to generational renewal in Irish agriculture. Too often, the transfer of farm management is delayed, leaving young people unable to make decisions, access supports or invest confidently in the future of the business.”
O'Neill told the conference when initial CAP proposals were published, Macra was heartened to see generational renewal placed at the centre of the conversation.
“Finally, there appeared to be a glimmer of hope. Finally, there was recognition at European level that the future of agriculture depends on supporting the next generation. And perhaps, we thought, if our own Government was unwilling to deliver the supports we had been calling for, the next CAP might finally compel it to do so. But as negotiations have progressed, that initial optimism has become increasingly difficult to maintain. The proposed budget is deeply disappointing.
“The ambition for young farmers is being weakened. And with every stage of the negotiations, the prospect of a CAP that genuinely delivers for the next generation appears to be slipping further away. We cannot allow that to happen. Not when so much is at stake. Not when the demographic challenges facing agriculture are becoming more urgent by the day. And certainly not when we have a generation of young farmers whose futures depend on the decisions being made,” President O’Neill said.
The tragedy of this situation, O'Neill added, is that we have young people who want to farm.
“We have ambitious, innovative, hardworking young people who want to build a future in agriculture. They want to take over family farms. They want to develop new enterprises. They want to invest in their communities and contribute to the future of Irish food production. But increasingly, the barriers standing in their way are simply becoming too great to overcome. The challenges are many, but the supports are few,” the Macra leader concluded.