Climate change activists, Extinction Rebellion Ireland (XRI) says it has partnered with some Irish farmers to hold a demonstration at lunchtime today (Friday, June 25) at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in Dublin city.
The group says it wants to highlight “how the government is complicit in encouraging constant growth within the agricultural sector, at the expense of the environment and small farmers’ quality of life”.
As this weekend marks the expected end of negotiations on the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), XRI is calling for adequate policy change and a just transition.
Extinction Rebellion on CAP
In a statement, XRI states: “The CAP has consistently failed to reward farming practices that are compatible with climate action with multiple environmental groups like ‘Fridays For Future’ condemning it, and small farmers expressing concern over the incentives for growth”.
In a public video letter by XRI titled – ‘Dear Farmers, we need your help’ they are quoted saying: “We are constantly told by politicians and the media that there is a lot of bad blood between farmers and environmentalists. Extinction Rebellion [does] not believe this to be true.
“Most beef farmers in Ireland are surviving on subsidies and a second off-farm job to supplement their income, not making money from their cattle.
“Dairy farmers are not much better off, with cow herds double the size their parents had, but earning half the money. A very small percentage of mega-farms do very well out of the current system, while all the small and medium-sized family farms are left struggling,” the video continues.
Climate change
XRI claims that on the current course, we are heading for 4° of warming by the end of this century.
“This will cause billions of people to be displaced, widespread famine and untillable land. This is already happening, with families from equatorial regions being forced out of the farms they have held for generations,” the XRI video statement continues.
XRI says that Irish agriculture contributes substantially to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and farmers have access to the greatest technology to reduce these emissions – the land.
Farm incomes
The demonstration groups claims that government and industry plans have forced farmers into intensifying their farms to stay in profit, putting huge pressure on small farms.
“Even for independent farmers who are making a decent wage, climate change will radically change their business models in the coming years. Extinction Rebellion will continue protesting the unfair EU CAP, which has 80% of the taxpayers’ money going to only 20% of the farmers.”
The group is also demanding a just transition to a new food system that supports farmers in reducing the herd size and rewards them for capturing GHGs through rewilding and diversifying the land.
The group says there is also a need for a body to be set up to help farmers with this transition.
Farmer and campaigner Gerry Loftus said: “Farming organisations and some politicians, especially independents, are leading farmers in the wrong direction on climate emissions and CAP.
“We must have a proper livelihood for farmers, we must be climate and environmentally-friendly in doing so. Farming organisations need to realise this affects every human being on the planet,” he concluded.