MORE THAN 200 farmers held a protest at Teagasc’s Kildalton Agriculture College, Piltown, Co Kilkenny, as Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith officially opened a €4 million facility there yesterday.
The Minister was met at the gates of the college by farmers from Kilkenny and Waterford protesting against cuts in Rural Environment Protection Scheme (Reps), disadvantaged areas payments, suckler cow welfare, retirement and young farmer installation schemes.
Mr Smith held a meeting at the site with the Irish Farmers’ Association delegation. It included two of the organisation’s presidential candidates, Derek Deane and John Bryan, who said the Minister assured them he would honour the €250 million suckler cow welfare scheme which was at risk under the McCarthy report.
The Minister will be meeting the IFA later today at the Farmleigh-style economic forum on farming and food, where industry leaders will address more than 700 agri-business people, Government and farming representatives in the RDS, Dublin. Organised by the IFA, the forum will prepare an action plan to highlight the importance of the sector in helping the economy recover and the policies needed to achieve this.
The event will be co-ordinated by chief executive of the IMI management institute Tom McCarthy.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe said the rural economy was diverse, innovative and primed to drive jobs and exports and this was shown by the breadth and scale of the agri-food industry.
“The business leaders will identify what needs to be done by Government to fulfil the potential of the sector.
“Our analysis shows that export growth of €2 billion and an additional 16,000 jobs can be secured if the right environment is created,” he said.
He added that the forum would look at the challenges for Ireland as a world-class player in farming and agri-business.
Among the line-up of business people will be the chief executive of Aryzta AG Owen Killian; chief executive of the Kerry Group Stan McCarthy; group chief executive of Glanbia John Moloney; chairman and managing director of the Kepak Group John Horgan; chairman of the Queally Group Peter Queally; chief executive of FBD Andrew Langford; chief executive of the Carbery Group Dan McSweeney and entrepreneur and RTÉ Dragons’ Den presenter Gavin Duffy.
The discussions will be streamed live on www.ifarm.ie and online attendees from around the country can put questions to the speakers.
Opening the new agriculture education building in Piltown yesterday, Mr Smith described it as “a significant step in the development of agricultural education in Ireland and is a clear demonstration of Teagasc’s leading role as an education provider to the agriculture and food sector.”
The new facility incorporates a lecture theatre, classrooms, laboratories, library and a range of student recreation facilities for the 600 students who attend further education and higher level education programmes at the college, which was opened in 1971.