AGRICULTURE MINISTER CHARLIE McConalogue will meet with Irish farmers next week to ask them to plant wheat, barley and other grains on some of their land.

The measure is part of emergency plans being drawn up by the Government to offset a possible food security crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The minister plans to discuss with main farm organisations the disruption to the sector as well as the current market situation.

 ”I have asked members of the main farming bodies to attend a meeting in my Department on Tuesday to assess the situation and how we can work closely and collaboratively in the time ahead,” he said. 

IFA President Tim Cullinan said today that there has been no discussion with farmers regarding media reports that farmers may be required to grow crops in 2022.

“We are in very challenging times and farmers will certainly play our part in any national or European effort,” he said.

“However, it is far from certain that asking all farmers to plant crops is the best use of the resources that are likely to be available to us,” he said.

“The biggest issue facing farmers is the rocketing cost and availability of inputs. This is where the Government needs to focus their efforts, as well as looking at some of their own regulations,” he said.

The Agriculture Department has also confirmed that a rapid response team within the department, which will be headed up by Secretary General Brendan Gleeson and will report to the minister, has been established to act actively monitor the developing situation as regards Ukraine and the impacts it will have on food security and supply chains.

“At times like these, food is our most important resource so, as a Department, we are taking every possible proactive step to ensure that we are agile and can respond to this rapidly evolving situation,” Minister McConalogue said.

Earlier this week, McConalogue attended a meeting of European Agriculture Ministers to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

At the meeting, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski confirmed that market support measures under CMO regulations would be made available when required.
 
“I welcome the Commissioner’s commitment to support the agri sector. Following the EU Council of Minister’s meeting, I have written to the Commissioner to ensure that any supports can be rolled out rapidly to support the sector. I will continue to work with my European colleagues to deliver supports if and when they are needed,” the minister concluded. 

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned of potential food security and supply chains issues due to a huge amount of European grain coming from Ukraine and Russia. 

Fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region is known as the “breadbasket of the world”.

Ukrainian farmers have been forced to neglect their fields as millions flee, fight or try to stay alive.

Ports are shut down that send wheat and other food staples worldwide to be made into bread, noodles and animal feed. And there are worries Russia, another agricultural powerhouse, could have its grain exports upended by Western sanctions.

While there have not yet been global disruptions to wheat supplies, prices have surged 55% since a week before the invasion amid concerns about what could happen next.

If the war is prolonged, countries that rely on affordable wheat exports from Ukraine could face shortages starting in July, International Grains Council director Arnaud Petit said.

That could create food insecurity and throw more people into poverty in places like Egypt and Lebanon, where diets are dominated by government-subsidised bread.

In Europe, officials are preparing for potential shortages of products from Ukraine and increased prices for livestock feed that could mean more expensive meat and dairy if farmers are forced to pass along costs to customers.

Russia and Ukraine combine for nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports. Ukraine is also a major supplier of corn and the global leader in sunflower oil, used in food processing.

With reporting by Press Association