The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, should not progress with the Food Vision reports in their current form.
An IFA delegation, led by president Tim Cullinan, met with the minister on Tuesday night (December 13) to discuss the ongoing impasse with the Food Vision groups, along with the upcoming Climate Action Plan and other issues.
The IFA has expressed major concerns about the final Food Vision group reports for the beef and dairy sectors.
The documents submitted to Minister McConalogue present a series of recommendations on how each sector can “mitigate” greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Food Vision reports
“The Food Vision group reports were not agreed by IFA or any other farming group. It would be wrong for the minister to move ahead unilaterally,” Tim Cullinan said.
“IFA made it clear to the minister that IFA is willing to engage further to try and find agreement around a Climate Action Plan for the sector.
“There is a real danger that the minister and the government are going to do real damage to our sector to meet a short-term target, while technological advancements in the sector could well help us achieve our 2030 targets.
“We also pointed out that changes to the Nitrates Derogation, since the Food Vision Groups were established, will impact output, cow numbers and will have unintended consequences for every sector as it is already driving up prices for land rental.
“Farmers are seeing this, along with the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and several other measures introduced by this government, as being an attempt to reduce livestock numbers by stealth,” the IFA president added.
Cullinan also raised concerns with the minister about the proposed EU Restoration Law and the Sustainable Use Directive on pesticide proposed by the EU Commission.
“Both of these have the potential to devastate Irish agriculture. We need our government to stand up for Irish farming on these issues.”
The association called on the minister to provide funding for all 46,000 farmers seeking to join the Agri Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES).
Minister McConalogue and the IFA also discussed dog control; the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT); CAP payments for tillage farmers with leased land; the establishment of the wool council; and the new Agri-Food Regulator.