Ireland to fund 46% of Rural Development Programme

December 27, 2013 Oliver Moore Latest from EU Member States, Main stories

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Based on media reports in Ireland, it appears the Irish Department of Agriculture will bring proposals forward to almost exactly match fund the CAP’s Rural Development Programme (RDP). According to Irish farming newspaper the Irish Farmers’ Journal, “Ireland will contribute over 46% of the total funding of Pillar II“, with “a funding pot established of between E580m and E590m“. Of this funding pot, the Irish Exchequer will provide E267m a year on average. The IFA – Irish Farmers’ Association – had already claimed on 18th December that it expected the RDP plan to be funded to between 45 and 47% by the Irish Exchequer.

This proposal from the Department of Agriculture is still not official, and has yet to be brought to the section of the Irish government which controls the relevant purse strings – the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This will occur early next month.

The mainstream Irish farming sector pushed strongly (see also here and here) to avoid equalisation of payments – i.e. flat payments – as their primary focus is on what they describe as “active farmers“. Active farmers are larger, wealthier, technically more productive landowners in regions with good land. Smaller farmers in regions with marginal land come down the pecking order relative to, for example, dairy farmers in the Golden Vale.

However once Ireland got the option of delaying and reducing the flattening of payments onto the CAP reform agenda during the Irish EU presidency, the way was left open for some crumbs to be given to the smaller guys. Thus, there has been a campaign for the Irish Exchequer to match fund the Rural Development fund, though this campaign has been far more muted than the push for non-flattening of payments in early to mid 2013.

The Rural Development Programme is where agri-environmental measures, LEADER, farm modernisation, disadvantaged areas, as well as suckler cattle and sheep programmes are funded. The Farmer’s Journal reports that LEADER funding is likely to be cut from 10% of the overall RDP budget to between 5-7%. This is bad news for community led rural development, as the LEADER model in Ireland has been especially prominent. Foe a summary of the LEADER impact on rural Ireland, see here). This surplus % will be reallocated elsewhere in Pillar II. Will this could be good news for rural communities and the environment, there are no strong indications yet as to where it will be invested. However, with the Irish Farmers’ Journal also reporting that Belgium and France are investing coupled Pillar I money into their suckler herds, to the tune of E200 per cow, it is likely that Ireland will certainly keep an eye on how to maintain parity for that sector. Both Pillar I (coupled payments suckler farmers) and Pillar II (support measures for sucklers) offer options here.

About Oliver Moore 213 Articles

Dr. Oliver Moore is the communications director and editor-in-chief with ARC2020. He has a PhD in the sociology of farming and food, where he specialised in organics and direct sales. He is published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. A weekly columnist and contributor with Irish Examiner, he is a regular on Countrywide (Irish farm radio show on the national broadcaster RTE 1) and engages in other communications work around agri-food and rural issues, such as with the soil, permaculture, climate change adaptation and citizen science initiative Grow Observatory . He lectures part time in the Centre for Co-operative Studies UCC.

A propos d'Oliver Moore
Oliver voyage beaucoup moins qu’auparavant, pour ce qui concerne son activité professionnelle. Il peut néanmoins admirer par la fenêtre de son bureau les mésanges charbonnières et les corbeaux perchés au sommet du saule dans le jardin de sa maison au cœur de l’écovillage de Cloughjordan, en Irlande. L’écovillage est un site de 67 acres dans le nord du Tipperary. Il comprend d’espaces boisés, des paysages comestibles, des lieux de vie, d’habitation et de travail, ainsi qu’une ferme appartenant à la communauté. Les jours où il travaille dans le bureau du centre d’entreprise communautaire, il profite d’une vue sur les chevaux, les panneaux solaires, les toilettes sèches et les jardins familiaux.

Ce bureau au sein de l’écovillage constitue en effet un tiers-lieu de travail accueillant également des collaborateurs des associations Cultivate et Ecolise, ainsi qu’un laboratoire de fabrication (« fab lab »).

Oliver est membre du conseil d’administration de la ferme communautaire (pour la seconde fois !) et donne également des cours sur le Master en coopératives, agroalimentaire et développement durable à l’University College Cork. Il a une formation en sociologie rurale : son doctorat et les articles qu’il publie dans des journaux scientifiques portent sur ce domaine au sens large.

Il consacre la majorité de son temps de travail à l’ARC 2020. Il collabore avec ARC depuis 2013, date à laquelle l’Irlande a assuré la présidence de l’UE pendant six mois. C’est là qu’il a pu constater l’importance de la politique agroalimentaire et rurale grâce à sa chronique hebdomadaire sur le site d’ARC. Après six mois, il est nommé rédacteur en chef et responsable de la communication, poste qu’il occupe toujours aujourd’hui. Oliver supervise le contenu du site web et des médias sociaux, aide à définir l’orientation de l’organisation et parfois même rédige un article pour le site web.

À l’époque où on voyageait davantage, il a eu la chance de passer du temps sous les tropiques, où il a aidé des ONG irlandaises de commerce équitable – au Ghana, au Kenya, au Mali, en Inde et au Salvador – à raconter leur histoire.

Il se peut que ces jours-là reviennent. Pour son compte Oliver continuera de préférer naviguer en Europe par bateau, puis en train. Après tout, la France n’est qu’à une nuit de navigation. En attendant, il y a toujours de nombreuses possibilités de bénévolat dans la communauté dans les campagnes du centre de l’Irlande.