Pigs and horticulture package worth €16m to be submitted to Cabinet for approval

Another package to support the country’s struggling hog and horticultural sectors will be submitted to Cabinet for approval today.

Input price inflation has put farmers under unprecedented pressure on all farms, with cost pressures in particular threatening future farms in the most intensive specialized and intensive sectors.

The package for pig farmers is said to pay out a maximum of 70,000 euros per farmer.

This is the second such package to support the pig sector in the past eight weeks. In February, McConalogue put forward a €7 million package that would pay out up to €20,000 per farmer.

The highly productive sector, which counts only 300 farmers but generates an output of almost one billion euros, has suffered severe financial losses in recent months.

Input prices such as feed and energy have skyrocketed, while at the same time pig prices on the market have fallen.

However, the package is much less than the €100m the Farmers Union of Ireland had hoped for, as its president and pig farmer Tim Cullinan feared many pig farmers could go bust.

As part of the same package, Minister McConalogue will allocate €3 million to support horticultural and vegetable growers.

Tightrope growers (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.) as well as field vegetable, mushroom and apple growers can also apply for support.