Ireland’s newest farming organisation, the Farmers’ Alliance will be officially launched at a meeting in Athlone this weekend.
The guest speaker at the event will be Caroline van der Plas, who is the leader of the Dutch pro-farming political party, BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB).
The party, which describes itself as the “voice of and for the countryside”, recently had a “historic” win in the country’s provincial elections claiming 17 seats in the Dutch senate.
Farmers’ Alliance
The Farmers’ Alliance is being established following a meeting organised through Ireland’s Farm Discussion Group Facebook page in February.
Liam McLaughlin, who set up the social media page, is among the organisers of the new group.
Speaking to Agriland ahead of the official launch in the Athlone Springs Hotel at 1:30p.m on Sunday, April 16, the Donegal man said there is “massive interest across the country” from both farmers and non-farmers.
McLaughlin said that it is too early to say if the Farmers’ Alliance will run candidates in the next elections but the idea is not being discounted at this stage.
“We’re basically trying to get what we’re about out there. We’re still gathering ideas and information from people. We work very strongly on feedback we get from the public.
“There’s definitely a demand for an organisation that will represent farmers in a slightly different way,” he said.
Launch
The meeting, which is open to all, is set to be addressed by a range of speakers, including Independent TD for Wexford, Verona Murphy.
There will also be contributions from farmers involved in the dairy, beef, sheep and poultry sectors.
“We will be looking for membership after this [meeting]. Believe it or not, we weren’t even set up and there were people offering us memberships and asking us how do we become a member,” McLaughlin said.
The Farmers’ Alliance is hoping to set up an all-island co-op to work with small merchants and family-owned businesses in importing goods, such as fertiliser and feedstuff.
The co-op would also explore developing a more direct link between tillage farmers and other farmers.
McLaughlin said the group is also hoping to highlight issues such as greenways and the access to finance for farmers.