Disagreeing with a columnist’s agriculture views

Dear Sir,

Tom Elliott’s defence of Northern Ireland’s agriculture (The Impartial Reporter, March 21) in regards to the warming of the planet does not stand up to scrutiny.

The Northern Environmental Statistics Report 2023 informs us that Farming contributes more to global warming than any other sector of the economy, including Industry.

The latter contributes 18 per cent, while Farming contributes 29 per cent.

This is not the only negative impact farming has on what is called ‘the natural environment’.

In November, 2023, The Belfast Telegraph reported that pollution incidents attributed to farming in the previous five years amounted to 1,461.

Some of these incidents will have caused mass fish kills and contributed to the blue-green algae that has had such a devastating impact on Lough Neagh, and to a lesser extent, Lough Erne.

In fact, a September, 2019 report by the department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) found that agriculture was responsible for 40 per cent of rivers that failed to qualify as ‘good’ in terms of their ecological health.

Agriculture has also played a significant role in the steep decline of biodiversity in Northern Ireland over the past few decades.

The Northern Ireland Environmental Statistical Report May 2023 states that biodiversity loss can be directly attributed to exposure to ammonium.

DAREA informs us that 98 per cent of ammonia pollution is derived from agriculture.

The EJNI Briefing Paper to the Northern Ireland Assembly, November, 2020, informs us that ammonia pollution in Northern Ireland is responsible for 12 per cent of UK ammonia emissions, despite having only 3 per cent of the UK population.

The bulldozing of hedgerows and pockets of woodland in Fermanagh, and across the whole of the province, has in no small measure contributed to the loss of biodiversity and the creation of a sterile, aesthetically-impoverished countryside.

A countryside the tourist industry is at pains to present to potential tourists as worth their time and money to visit.

Tom Elliott’s blinkered defence of the state of agriculture in Northern Ireland does the farming community a serious disservice.

As their livelihood is dependent on a mild, predictable climate and high level of biodiversity, his belief that “environmental sustainability ... must not come at the expense of our agricultural products” is contrary to the non-negotiable reality that a robust, agricultural economy that future generations can rely on derives from a healthy eco-system.

One which all of us should petition our political representatives to enhance and protect.

Yours faithfully,

Laurence Speight,

Derrygonnelly