ABSTRACT
At independence, the agricultural sector accounted for just over half of total employment, about three-quarters of merchandise exports and almost one-third of GDP. The fate of agriculture was therefore of critical importance to the development of the economy as a whole. In this chapter we review first the progress of the sector since independence, from which it emerges that output was stagnant for an extended period. We next consider the major factors which inhibited agricultural development in Ireland, section 10.2 examining the constraints on the demand side and section 10.3 the supply side constraints. Finally, in section 10.4 we assess the effectiveness of government policy in relaxing these constraints.
