The Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming is today (Thursday, December 12) launching a public consultation, which will remain open until the end of January.
The commission, which is led by chair of Ornua, Aidan O’Driscoll, was established by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue in October.
The seven-member group has been tasked with assessing all issues relating to generational renewal and producing a report which is due to be submitted before the end of June 2025.
The commission will use “an objective, evidence-based approach” to examining the factors that contribute to the current age demographics in the sector and will present policy options for consideration.
Generational renewal
According to the commission, only 7% of farmers are under 35 years of age, while over 30% of farmers are over 65.
The current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cites generational renewal as one of its nine key objectives.
There are a range of supports currently available to support generational renewal, including measures under the Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan.
Minister McConalogue has asked the new commission to engage closely with stakeholders in the sector.
As part of the public consultation, the commission has asked respondents to address the following questions specifically, along with any other comments or suggestions:
- What do you feel are the key issues behind the aging farming sector?
- What can be done to encourage more young people into agriculture?
- What can be done to assist those older farmers to engage with succession and generational renewal?
- What do you think of the current measures for supporting and promoting generational renewal?
- Are there any additional initiatives that could be undertaken, or could the current supports be improved?
All submissions, which must be sent to the commission via email, should include a short summary of not more than 300 words setting out the main points.
Submissions from organisations or groups should include a brief background on the membership, aims and objectives of that organisation or group.
The deadline for submissions is 4:00p.m on January 31, 2025 and any received after this deadline will not be taken into consideration