Policies are ‘a threat to commercial family farming’
ICMSA president Pat McCormack has said that he is deeply concerned with the direction of current government policy in relation to agriculture.
He said that it “represents a clear threat to commercial family farming in Ireland and it is about time that rural government TDs stood up for the farming community and stopped the tail wagging the dog”.
He was speaking following a meeting with the Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Minister for Climate, Environment and Communications Eamon Ryan and the Minister for Agriculture, Food & Marine Charlie McConalogue.
Mr McCormack said that Irish farmers recognised their environmental obligations and will respond as a sector.
But he said that what they would not accept was “the effective shutdown of our sector and politicians telling us to diversify when there are no credible alternatives”.
“ICMSA is very concerned at this stage, from issues such climate change, nitrate regulations and veterinary medicine changes, that the current government appears intent on squeezing commercial family farming out of this country and it appears to have forgotten the crucial role played by agriculture in the economic recovery and also its central role in rural Ireland from a social and economic perspective,” he said. Mr McCormack said that “despite the negative comments from vested interests” Irish agriculture has “a proud record of achievement from an economic, environmental, social and rural perspective”.
He said that the government “needs to recognise this, work constructively with the sector and ensure that our sector can grow and develop in a sustainable way”.
“The false negativity about our sector is unfairly influencing government policy in a direction that could critically undermine family farms and it is essential that this government and the rural government TDs re-assesses the direction of policy and proactively supports the sector.
“Farmers understand the climate challenge but the unique position of agriculture and food production needs to be recognised as acknowledged in the Paris Accord, sustainable agriculture needs to be supported with the maximum level of co-funding under CAP post-2020 and Irish farmers will not accept the government unfairly undermining our very future based on flawed policies,” he said.