IN BRIEF
IN BRIEF
uIRELANDS family farm organisation, ICMSA, has called on the republics government to save family farms from the threat of extinction.
Its leader, Frank Allen, claimed the lack of action by successive governments on planning the agriculture industry, together with the deep uncertainty about the future of farming, had resulted in an exodus of farmers from the land at a rate of more than 100 a week.
Mr Allen called on the government to put Irelands family farm structure at the top of its agenda and enter into a 10-year contract with farmers. "The first 10 years of the new millennium should be a decade of care to achieve the economic viability of our family farms, based on sound co-ordinated planning.
"The backbone of the rural economy is the family farm structure which is fading because of wanton neglect. Rural life as we know it in Ireland will disappear if farm families are not given the support they deserve as job creators, food producers, environmentalists, and tourism promoters," Mr Allen said.