IRELAND HAS offered to help the new Libyan government build up its agricultural base following an approach from the Libyans to buy Irish food, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney told the Macra na Feirme conference at the weekend.
Mr Coveney said he had met a representative of the new Libyan government in Limerick last week who had come to Ireland to source high-quality food for the people of his country.
“We discussed that and I also offered assistance to the Libyan government in helping build up it agriculture sector,” he told the young farmers’ conference at the weekend in Little Island, Cork.
He also revealed the Lebanese government has offered to open what he called “a forward trading post for Ireland” as a thank you to this country for the peacekeeping efforts of Irish troops.
He said the offer had been made to his colleague, Minister for Defence Alan Shatter, on his recent visit to the Lebanon and this would help Ireland sell goods into that region where there was a large population which could not grow its own food.
Mr Coveney, who officially opened the event, which has attracted upwards of 5,000 young farming and rural delegates to Cork, said he was very supportive of the EU Common Agricultural Policy reform proposal that additional direct payments be made to young farmers.
He warned there would be “civil war” in agriculture if an EU proposal to make direct payments on land area alone without taking account of the way it was being farmed, its quality and its ability to produce.
He repeated his statement that farming would have to bear its share of cuts in the forthcoming budget but said he would do his best to ensure the cuts would not damage the sector but said he would not lie and say cuts were not going to happen.
Alan Jagoe, Macra na Feirme president, said the upcoming budget was a worrying time for all and especially young farmers.
Macra wanted the current young farmer tax reliefs and incentives that encourage land transfer and establishment in farming to be retained in their current format.