‘Farmers not the enemy, they are part of the climate change solution’

“FARMERS are not the enemy,” said Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South Billy Kelleher following a debate on the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy that forms part of the wider European Green Deal.

Kelleher, a member of the centrist Renew Europe Group, made the comments as a member of ENVI committee which deals with the climate change emergency but also as a practicing farmer himself.

“Farmers are the custodians of the land. It is, and always has been, in their interests to protect and enhance the land they own. No farmer I know wants to see the land go to rack and ruin.

“Farmers can and want to be part of the solution, but common sense is needed. CAP funding cannot be cut for farmers. It already makes up 56% of family farm income according to a Teagasc 2017 report.

“If, as we all expect, 40% CAP funding is diverted to climate action, additional funding will be required to ensure that there are no cuts to farm income. This 40% should be used to help farmers transition to environmentally sustainable methods to lessen their carbon footprints.

“Additionally, farmers find it hard to fathom why the EU, and the current Irish government, are pushing ahead with the MERCOSUR trade deal with South America. It makes no financial, environmental or quality sense to bulldoze the Amazon, the earth’s lungs, to make way for 90,000 tonnes of low quality beef to be produced and then shipped to Europe when we have more than enough quality beef being produced in Europe.

“Change is coming but we can bring people, including the farming community, with us. It’s the only way to protect rural communities and our planet,” concluded Kelleher.