The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has unveiled plans for a support package worth more than €12 million to encourage Irish tillage farmers to grow more crops.

Charlie McConalogue will seek approval for the measure when he brings it before Cabinet later today (Tuesday, March 22).

The targeted intervention package for the tillage sector aims to support the production of more native crops and crops with a low demand for chemical fertiliser.

The measure comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacts agriculture, food security, and global supply chains.

The war has compounded hyper-inflation in the price of: energy; feed; fertiliser; fuel; silage plastic; and other farm inputs.

"I quickly put in place the National Food and Security Committee to examine how best to advise the sector to manage the disruptions," he added.

The minister explained that the support package would be initially targeted at the tillage sector due to time constaints.

"I committed to standing by our farm families during this crisis and I will continue to do so in the time ahead,” he said.

The support package is being split into three initial measures:

The minister said that additional support for the growing of grass silage "is expected to be explored in the coming weeks".