Primary economic activity:agriculture(GDA)

primary economic activity

Primary economic activities are involved with the extraction of natural resources for our own use.

It includes farming, fishing, forestry and mining. The Greater Dublin Area (GDA) has a smaller % of people employed in primary economic activities (like agriculture and fishing) than the western region.

Only 3% of people here make their living from farming. Despite this agriculture is highly productive with high yields and are specialised and intensive. On average farmers earn 40% more than national figures.

Factors to favour farming in GDA

Physical factors such as climate relief and soils and human factors like access to markets combine in the GDA to favour farming in the region.

The GDA has over 50% of the greenhouses in the country allowing for a thriving market gardening sector in North County Dublin like Lusk and Rush.

Climate

The climate experienced here is Cool Temperate Oceanic. Average temperatures are similar to the West with averages between 5 and 16 degrees.

The GDA receive 4 hours of sunshine a day compared to 2.3 hours in The West. The slightly warmer conditions favour the growth of arable crops like wheat, oats and barley. 15% of Ireland's wheat is grown here.

The warmer temperatures (July 16 degrees C) also mean a longer growing season which is very important for market gardening. (Market gardening is also called horticulture where fruits vegetables and flowers are grown).

Frost is rare due to the influence of the Irish Sea and this is also an advantage for growing crops. Land around Rush and Lusk in North county Dublin is often used for market gardening .

Comparison to west climate

It is drier than the West because of the rain shadow effect due to the distance from the Atlantic Ocean.

The annual average rainfall is about 800mm (around half that of the West) and it is distributed throughout the year.

The relatively low rainfall levels reduces the risk of potato blight and so potatoes thrive here. 20% of the national potato crop grows here much in North County Dublin and Meath.

The Wicklow Mountains are wetter due to their height and the relief rainfall which falls here and so pastoral sheep farming is the dominant agricultural practice here.

Soils

Fertile brown earth soils are most common in the area due to historical cover of deciduous forestry. The leaves decayed into rich humus.

The soils are also stone less and are easily worked. This allows for intensive farming of arable crops without making the soils less fertile especially around Co. Meath.

Alluvial deposits from the region's main rivers have also developed fertile soils. For example, along The Boyne valley in Co. Meath where very rich agricultural land is found.

Pastoral farming/soils

Pastoral farming is very profitable here too due to the rich Brown Soils and together with the climate are ideal for the growth of grass.

Cattle reared in the West are often fattened on the rich pastures of Meath before being sold to meat processing factories. There are 3,800 cattle farms in the GDA.

In County Dublin the addition of sand to the soil from weathered sandstone on the coastline make soils light and easily drained which are also ideal for growing potatoes and other market garden produce.

The limestone bedrock in Kildare has led to calcium rich brown earth soils. The calcium rich grass strengthens animal bones. This is one of the reasons for the successful horse breeding industry in Kildare.

Infertile peat soils are found in the uplands of the Wicklow Mountains and thus the regions agriculture is mainly sheep farming and much of the land is given over to forestry.

Relief

In Dublin, Meath and Kildare the low lying and gently sloping land means that it is easily accessible by machinery leading to high levels of modern mechanisation in the area. This is good for commercial agriculture.

Due to the low lying lands the region is not exposed to soil erosion from wind or rain. This is not the case in The Dublin/ Wicklow mountains.

The Dublin Wicklow Mountains formed during the Caledonian mountain building period (400mya) prevent the use of intensive farming methods and so farming is confined to mainly sheep rearing on uplands.

The mountains rise over 1000m and the steep slopes and high altitude are a disadvantage for farming.

Markets

There is a large urban market of 1.9 million people in the GDA to sell to. The standards of living in the GDA are higher than the rest of the country and there is more disposable income to spend on both basic and high-quality fresh produce.

Farmers in the GDA can sell their produce directly to consumers at the many "Farmers Markets" found throughout the area like the Pheonix Park Farmers markets. This means farmers can get a fair price for their produce without a middleman.

Many farmers do sell to the supermarkets and shops and can transport fresh perishable goods quickly from within the region. The GDA's farms' proximity to the area make transport costs much lower than in the West.

Transport and food processing

This is also possible due to the excellent transport links of motorways like the M50 and national roads like the N2 in the area. Transport times from farm to market are short and inexpensive increasing profits for the farmers.

Food processing in The GDA is on a much larger scale than in the West and so the farmers benefit from these markets also.

Food processing such as bread making, brewing and vegetable canning industries buy farm produce in large quantities.

For example, Tayto Snax in Ashbourne source 90% of the food ingredients from 30km of the factory.

Guinness uses local suppliers of wheat and barley for manufacturing in the area also.