The ongoing situation regarding peat usage – which saw a significant amount of peat imported into the country from Latvia over the weekend – has been described as a “total travesty” by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Commenting, IFA president Tim Cullinan described the government’s “inaction” on the issue as “totally unacceptable”, adding:
“The three ministers need to get together and sort this out. We need political leadership here.
“We are sick of everyone blaming everyone while small growers and businesses which provide employment in rural Ireland are being put out of business by government inaction. It’s a total travesty.”
The IFA said that, after its protest back in July, it received a commitment that a “short-term solution was imminent” to avoid the importation of peat from Eastern Europe and the Baltics.
However, on Saturday (September 18), a “load that filled 200 trucks” was imported from Latvia to supplement this “so called stockpile of peat”, the farming organisation claimed.
The IFA added that it had highlighted that this stockpile of peat would not be of use for the mushroom industry as fresh excavate is required.
If no action is taken, it’s expected that imported peat for the mushroom sector will be required in the next six weeks. “In effect, we will be importing product that is 80% water, which is utterly ludicrous”, the association warned.
Continuing, Cullinan said:
“It’s an unbelievable scenario given that horticultural peat is readily available and can be harvested in a sustainable, environmentally friendly manner in this country.
“The difficulty in sourcing peat is the final nail in the coffin for many horticultural operators.
“It’s very contradictory to talk of expanding our horticultural sector while many growers are currently forced into exiting due to rising input costs, labour shortages, peat availability and diminishing margins.”
The consultation group convened by Minister Malcolm Noonan earlier this year has met on 11 occasions.
Highlighting that “every possible alternative has been discussed at length”, the IFA warned that, as it stands, no viable alternative is available for the industry.