A new approach to rural development is required urgently if the problems identified in a survey conducted under the auspices of the National University of Ireland are to be addressed.
Traditional forms of agriculture are now in decline and it is vital that innovative thinking and entrepreneurial skills are encouraged so that rural communities can survive and thrive.
The transformation required will not be simple or easy and will have to marry urban creativity with rural strengths in developing new enterprises. Traditionally, farmers have been reluctant to embrace change. But the recent adoption of reforms to the European Union's Common Agriculture Policy, involving a system of "decoupling" and direct payments for farmers, has opened a new chapter in rural life that will require much greater concentration on quality, modernisation, added value and new businesses.
In that regard, it is disappointing that the new IFA president, Pádraig Walshe, has chosen to campaign against an EU Nitrates Directive by demanding a boycott of the work of Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority. The directive is designed to minimise water pollution. And it should have been implemented 15 years ago. But because of pressure from large farmers, successive governments failed to establish limits on stocking levels and on slurry-spreading times until they were forced to do so by the European Commission.
The IFA's concern is understandable, given that the incomes of 14,000 commercial farmers may be affected. But this is not the way to proceed. The nitrates decision was taken in 2004. It is a vital protection for water quality and is important from the point of view of tourism. It should have been implemented years ago. In undermining the work of the primary farm development agency by its campaign of opposition to anti-pollution standards, the IFA is in danger of damaging the interests of the majority of its members.
The universities-based survey disclosed a low level of entrepreneurial activity in rural areas, with only one in seven households involved in enterprises involving more than one person and only one of these engaged in wealth creation. There is a very low diversification by farmers into areas outside conventional agriculture. And less than 3 per cent are involved in agri-tourism. Construction provides the majority of off-farm jobs. And significant commuting distances are involved in this vulnerable sector. The phenomenon of once-off housing and extended commuting times is reflected in the finding that two out of five rural households have no involvement in community or sporting organisations and have little or no contact with neighbours. That is an unhealthy situation in terms of a supportive social fabric.
There are, however, positive signs. Nearly half of the young people surveyed have third-level qualifications. If the potential of this new generation is to be realised and channelled into specific areas of enterprise and employment, however, it will require new thinking, government investment and the cooperation of both statutory and voluntary organisations.