Financial support options should be available for smaller farmers. We must insure that it is not just the largest farmers that get support. Farmers in the West struggle to survive on very low incomes and are subject to excessive scrutiny from Social Protection & Inspections.
Nick Ashmore, CEO of Strategic Banking Corporation Ireland was in the Finance Committee today. I asked him about how many agri-loans go to small farmers. While he did not have specific figures to hand, I am expecting him to get back to me on the actual number of loans in the BMW region.
