Mr. James Healy:

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine regularly suggests every farmer has a wet patch of land that could be planted. Macra na Feirme is in favour of agroforestry. It has become a dirty word in some parts of the country. One wants to avoid agroforestry being accused of destroying communities.

Agroforestry is attractive to young farmers and would deal with the large spruce plantations which some argue have taken over parts of the country. Agroforestry involves planting native hardwoods, which should be encouraged. As part of a survey for our CAP 2020 proposals, we found 56% of respondents indicated they would be willing to assign 1 ha of their farm towards agroforestry. It comes back again to ensuring there is a sustainable return beyond the first 15 years.