Primary Economic Activities

The terrain of the region hinders economic development. The main primary activity is agriculture, however it struggles due to a variety of factors such as climate and soils.

How Climate impacts Agriculture:

• The cool temperate oceanic climate in the West of Ireland results in high precipitation, causing frequent waterlogging, which negatively impacts arable farming.
• Mild oceanic winds reduce the incidence of frost, meaning crops do not suffer from frost burn, but the limited sunlight shortens the growing season.
• Relief rain due to mountainous terrain leads to excessive soil moisture, causing nutrient leaching and reducing soil fertility.
• High rainfall levels can also erode topsoil, further diminishing the land's ability to support crops.
• The wet climate favours pasture growth over arable farming, making livestock farming, particularly sheep grazing, more common in the region.

How Soil impacts Agriculture:

• Heavy clay soils in the western parts of the region are prone to waterlogging, which makes them unsuitable for many crops and limits their agricultural potential.
• Soils in the east, which overlie permeable limestone bedrock, tend to be too dry, making it difficult to grow crops successfully.
• The acidic nature of the soils in mountainous areas supports only rough grazing, limiting the agricultural use of the land.
• The thin, nutrient-poor soils in mountainous regions are unsuitable for intensive farming, which forces farmers to rely on less productive practices like sheep grazing.
• Fertile brown earth soils are limited to lowland valleys, where pasture-led farming of beef and sheep is possible, but the overall agricultural productivity remains low due to poor soil quality.

Soil in the West of Ireland is generally poor for agriculture