The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney said that the concerns of farmers regarding the proposed EU Nature Restoration Law must be listened to.
The controversial proposal caused major division during a meeting of the environment committee of the European Parliament last Thursday (June 15).
Voting on amendments to the bill was postponed until June 27, after MEPs overran the allotted time for their committee session.
Farmers
Speaking to Agriland at University College Cork (UCC) today (Monday, June 19), Minister Simon Coveney, who is a former agriculture minister, stressed the need to consider the views of farmers in the development of policy.
“The truth is farmers are being asked to facilitate a lot of change at the moment, probably more change in the last number of years than they would have faced in the previous number of decades.
“The way in which we do that with farmers is something we need to take care about.
“We should stop lecturing farmers about how to run their own farms. They know an awful lot better than most politicians how to run a farm well.
“They also care about nature. They care about water courses. They care about animal husbandry. Without all of those things, their farms aren’t sustainable in the future,” Coveney added.
“So this needs to be a respectful discussion where we listen to what farmers are saying in terms of managing nature on their own farms and also ensuring that they are plugged into the research that the state can provide through Teagasc, through UCC and through other institutions in the State,” he said.
The enterprise minister said he believes farmers are willing to make the necessary changes to ensure proof of sustainability into the future but said it had to be done in partnership with farmers,
“And that goes for rewetting as well. No-one should be forced to rewet their farm and this government isn’t going to allow that.
“There are ways in which we can ensure that rewetting is part of the mix in terms of capturing carbon in soil, rather than allowing it to be released.
“I think rewetting is an important part of that debate but it’s only one part of it. We must do it in partnership with farmers rather than anything else,” Minister Coveney said.