The IFA claimed yesterday the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will cost up to 10,000 dairy farming jobs and 3,000 more in the processing sector.
Its president, Mr John Dillon, said the agreement to cut market supports for the dairy industry was "a very bad deal indeed".
He said: "If this was happening in any other industry, the Government would be setting up a task force to help. We are demanding that such a dairy task force be set up now through the Partnership Agreement."
Mr Dillon, who was chairing an emergency meeting of the IFA council, said he would be seeking an urgent meeting with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to address the problems over the dairy cuts.
"The cuts will drive between 8,000 and 10,000 farmers out of dairying as their income will be cut by 30 per cent not including inflation," he said. "In addition, there could be 3,000 jobs lost in the processing and servicing sectors because 80 per cent of our dairy production is supported by intervention."
Mr Dillon said members of his council had been severely critical of the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, for his handling of the negotiations because "he had not brought forward a single proposal to the negotiations".
"There is fear, worry and genuine anxiety out there especially among the smaller farmers in the west and north-west. They will be driven out of business."
Mr Dillon said he accepted the deal could not be renegotiated but a dairy task force, involving all the Government agencies, could focus on the problems.
Mr Dillon said all sectors including the processors, co-ops, the Irish Dairy Board and farm input suppliers must share the burden of adjustment and examine all issues including the optimum product mix to secure a viable future for the dairy sector.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association's council called yesterday on the Minister to apologise for misleading the public when he spoke last week about dairy farmers' reliance on EU supports. His remarks, it said,were unfounded.
"The Minister's comments that Ireland is too reliant on intervention were the comments of a person who does not know the realities faced by the co-ops and the Irish Dairy Board. Furthermore, given his comments, which are actually Franz Fischer's comments, it is no wonder that he got a bad deal," said Mr O'Rourke.
The ICMSA decided to set up a strategy group to help deal with the crisis.
The reforms agreed in Luxembourg last week will cut the levels of marketing supports in the dairy sector by 15 per cent for skim milk powder and 19 per cent for butter, to be compensated by a dairy cow premium.