Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 143: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the extent to which she expects the numbers involved in agriculture to increase or decrease in the next five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2290/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The most recent figures produced by the Central Statistics Office show that there were 136,500 farms in 2002. This reflects a decline rate of 1.7% per annum since 1995. If this rate of decline continues over the next five years it would result in approximately 119,000 farms in 2010.

However, projections done for the Agri Vision 2015 Committee take account of the impact of decoupling and estimate a slightly higher rate of decline, 2% per annum, which results in a figure of 116,000 farms in 2010.