The European Commission has approved €32.5 million in state aid to help Irish farmers who, the government says, have been hit by the impact of the Ukraine war.
The funding is being put in place “to support [Irish] tillage and horticulture producers in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine”, the European Commission said in a statement.
Ireland has around nine thousand grain farmers of which around 4,600 are classed as specialist tillage farms. The sector has fallen dramatically in recent decades. Back in 1990, Ireland had 23,183 cereal farms.
Last year’s wet weather – the wettest March and July on record – has put the sector under particular strain.
Earlier this year, the government promised to provide €100 per hectare in aid, but the Irish Grain Growers’ Group said that support did not come in time for the 2024 season.
But the aid signed off by the European Commission is not to account for the weather, but to prevent Irish farmers going bust as a knock-on effect of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It is understood that the war has hit grain farmers and vegetable producers. The Irish veg sector is worth €76 million per year and employs more than 1,000 people.
Farmers in countries neighbouring Ukraine, particularly Poland, have complained that Ukrainian imports – tariff-free since the start of the war – are undercutting EU farmers.
The European Commission says Irish farmers will be given direct grants to keep their businesses viable.
“The measure will be open to tillage and horticulture producers that are at risk of losing financial liquidity due to the difficulties in the agricultural market provoked by Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
The aid must not exceed €280,000 per farm and must be distributed before the end of this year, the EU says.