Report suggests number of full-time farmers likely to fall and calls for more innovative food production.
A government commitee set up to devise a long term strategy for the farming industry recommends major changes in the farm and food sector. It has been predicted that there will be a large drop in the number of farmers by the end of the decade.
At a press conference today, the Agri Food Committee set up by the Department of Agriculture made over a hundred recommendations to help the sector cope with the challenges of subsidy cuts, European Union enlargement, and freer international trade.
More resources are required to help the agrifood sector respond to what consumers want, says committee chairman Pat O'Neill to retain a competitive food and farming industry.
Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh believes part-time farming will become a reality and that change is necessary in order to,
Maintain as many as possible in rural areas, on farms, and in the country.
The Irish Farmers Association have rejected the claim that only 20,000 full-time farmers will survive.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 24 March 2000. The reporter is Joe O’Brien.
