The Labour Party has rejected a claim by Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan that its policies would not support agriculture.
At the launch of Fianna Fáil's pre-election document on agriculture, she said there were too many differing views between Fine Gael and Labour on agriculture, whereas her party had carefully thought out and costed its plans.
"I have the full commitment of my Taoiseach and Minister for Finance in relation to the sector. I would question the commitment of a Labour minister for finance when it comes to agriculture.
"Support of agriculture would not be within the policy framework of the Labour Party in the same way that we have."
However, a spokesman for Labour said yesterday it fully recognised the crucial role of agriculture in the Irish economy.
"Farmers have nothing to fear from Labour being in government as we have demonstrated not just in the last government but many times before."
Ms Coughlan also criticised Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny for going to the Farm Centre recently and calling for new investment for the food industry.
"Yet last week he published a five-year budget which included not an extra cent for the food industry."
She said while his party told farmers they were on their side, they stood idly by as Labour proposed a measure to infringe on farmers' control of their land which was prepared without a single meeting with farmers.
Defending her party's record on agriculture, she said it had committed an unprecedented level of exchequer funding to the sector in the new development plan, with €8.7 billion set aside for it.
She said the Fianna Fáil document on agriculture, The Next Steps Forward for Farming Communities, was a comprehensive policy document covering the next five years. It covered rolling out the suckler herd scheme, opposing any ban on live exports and investing €50 million in upgrading beef processing facilities.
There was also an enhanced dairy hygiene scheme and investment of €114 million in upgrading facilities in the dairy sector, €50 million for the modernisation of horticulture and €8 million for potato growers.
She said over the next five years Finna Fáil would establish a viable bio-energy industry, increase research and development, increase installation aid to young farmers by 55 per cent and support the education of young and older farmers.
A new rural environment protection scheme (Reps) which targeted 70,000 farmers would be introduced.
She also said an organisation, Bio-Security Ireland, with a remit to ensure the exclusion, eradication or effective management of animal diseases and pests, would be set up, and a new Animal Health Bill would be introduced.