Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent)
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77. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures his Department is taking to ensure that the percentage of land used for tillage farming is increased, and to ensure tillage farmers who rent land are not priced out of the market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36778/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The tillage sector is an integral component of the Agri-food industry and is a sector that I want to see grow and develop.

However, I am also acutely aware of the challenges that tillage farmers have experienced over the last two years. In response to these challenges, I ensured that more direct support was provided for tillage farmers by this Government than any other Government in the history of the State.

This significant additional support provided to the tillage sector included Payments under the Protein Aid Scheme totalling over €10.9m, Straw Incorporation Measure payments of €15.5m and the Tillage Incentive Scheme provided €8.5m in expenditure. Furthermore, €14.3m was paid in support to tillage farmers by way of an Unharvested Crop Support Scheme and as a once-off flat rate payment on the area of oilseed rape and cereal crops.

I established the Food Vision Tillage Group in May 2023 to set out a road map for the sustainable growth and development of the sector to 400,000ha by 2030 in line with the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan.

The Group, which was made up of a wide range of stakeholders from across the industry, published its comprehensive report in May this year and my Department has since been engaging with relevant stakeholders and is actively progressing the implementation of this strategy.

There are various pressures on land, and this is one of the challenges facing the sector in increasing the area under tillage. Such pressures includes competition for land from livestock based agriculture. However, the exchange of organic manures between livestock farmers and tillage farmers was identified by the Tillage Group as a means of reducing the competition for land from livestock farmers seeking to comply with organic nitrogen limits, while also bringing environmental benefits.

On 21 August, I announced the opening of a dedicated Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme as part of a suite of measures currently available under TAMS 3 (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme). This will encourage farmers to create additional storage capacity providing them with greater flexibility to utilise valuable organic nutrients. It provides for a 70% grant rate and has its own dedicated investment ceiling of €90,000 per holding solely for nutrient importation storage.

Figures on the tillage crops area for 2024 showed that the overall tillage area remained relatively stable.

Applications to the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) showed the overall area of tillage crops (cereals, maize, OSR, protein crops and beet) is 334,450ha which is a reduction of approximately 1% from 2023. I believe these figures to be positive given the various pressures that our tillage farmers have had to endure over the last two years.

I am fully committed to delivering on the huge potential of the tillage sector.