Macra and the EU – ‘Aspirations became reality’

Peadar Murphy was CEO of Macra during those years and, reminiscing on the build-up to membership, he says: “There was a period of waiting in the wings to see if Britain would join, allowing us to also apply. In 1970, Macra leaders were invited to visit Brussels by the Irish Council of the European Movement. That allowed us to be fully informed on the implications of EEC membership. 

“In the lead-up to the referendum on membership, Macra held several information meetings. Those were highly successful and influenced the massive vote for membership. The National Farmers’ Association (now the Irish Farmers’ Association) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) were equally heavily involved in campaigning for EEC membership at the time,” he says. 

The Mansholt visit

In 1970, Macra president, Kieran Curtin invited EEC agriculture commissioner Dr Sicco Mansholt to attend a Macra conference in Tralee. It was a truly momentous occasion, Peadar says, setting the scene: “Some of Mansholt’s policies were controversial, especially his plan to reduce farmer numbers in Europe. There was controversy over his attendance and a militant grouping allegedly threatened to assassinate the commissioner. Obviously, that was an empty threat and the speech by Mansholt was widely regarded as being very supportive of Irish membership and of the advantages for our farming community. 

“The commissioner was so impressed by the structure of Macra that he subsequently provided European funding for Macra participation in a European Young Farmer Exchange Scheme. For Macra, Ireland’s accession to EEC membership brought so many benefits for a new generation of young farmers. We were helped, financially, to develop our advice-and-education support programme. Eventually, the EEC introduced Installation Aid and a Pre-retirement Scheme. They didn’t last but, nevertheless they were very important while they were in place and were totally consistent with Macra’s aims in terms of advancing generational renewal.” 

Development

Government and EEC grant aid for farm development during the early years of membership meant that more farmers had to keep accurate farm accounts, says Peadar. It was the start of a more formal and professional approach to farmers’ finances and accounts.

“The introduction of income tax on farmers also drove book-keeping. Macra set up the Farm Accounts Cooperative to assist farmers, with Donie Cashman and others driving the move to a farmer-facing accounts body. Likewise, the Farm Relief Services were also initiated by Macra. It is no coincidence that many of these developments gained traction after Ireland joined the EEC. There was a new confidence in farming and food production,” recalls Peadar

“Macra, itself, joined the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), and was influenced by the development of policies that would support young farmers across Europe. It was very much a two-way flow of ideas and priorities. The model for a farm-relief service was borrowed from the Netherlands, for instance. And CEJA delegates from other countries took on the idea from Macra of a young-farmer organisation with economic as well as social agendas. That cross-pollination of ideas made us more ambitious as we saw what worked in other Member States. Aspirations became reality through exposure to new ideas and new practices.”

The quota effect

Padraig Walshe has been a central figure in Irish agriculture across several decades of EU membership. He became president of Macra in 1987, not long after the introduction of milk quotas in 1984. He then went on to take the top role in the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), having previously held the position of IFA National Dairy Committee chair. He recollects many of the key moments for Irish and European agriculture during those years: “On a personal level, we were expanding milk production on our farm and quotas hindered development in the following years. We leased in land and quota to build up production, which was obviously less profitable. That was the same for so many other milk producers during those years,” he says. 

Influencing EU policies

In terms of opportunities for working in Europe and influencing policy, Padraig recalls: “There were so many Irish people who went to work in the Commission in the 1980s, and earlier. They rose to positions of prominence and that was very important in terms of Irish influence during those years. There are far fewer now taking that career route and that’s a pity, from the perspective of keeping an Irish viewpoint to the fore across the Commission, though we still have very capable people working in Europe.”

Through his association with Macra, Padraig had the opportunity to visit Brussels, and other countries, before he became the organisation’s president. “The experience was positive, in terms of finding out how other agricultural systems operated across Europe. Surpluses in beef, dairy and other commodities during the 1980s drove a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the early 1990s, during the commissionership of Ray MacSharry. There was a specific agricultural language before that happened. Phrases like ‘export refunds’, ‘green pounds’, ‘intervention’, were all important to the economic wellbeing of farmers across the EEC. “Ultimately, the CAP gave us reasonable price stability, with the Commission determining the price of farm produce from year to year. That changed with the MacSharry reform introducing a farmer-support system and the market deciding prices. Today, the system has evolved further with greening payments becoming more important. When we joined in 1973 the Treaty of Rome was all about ensuring that there was enough food to feed the people of Europe while giving farmers a fair income.”

Handling change

Change is always difficult but those who accommodate that change as best they can, are the ones who survive, says Padraig.

“Change, in EU terms, often meant more form filling, which is not what farmers want to be doing. They want to focus on food production. There was an early recognition by the IFA that a permanent presence in Brussels was important. People like Michael Treacy were able to open doors for us and influence decisions and policies. It allowed us to meet and negotiate directly with the various agriculture commissioners. Not every country or farm organisation had that opportunity. I recollect discussions with Commissioner Marianne Fischer Boel aimed at ending the milk-quota system. After a long lead-in that happened in 2015.”

Looking forward

The worldwide demand for food is growing and environmental restrictions will increase pressure on food supplies, says Padraig, which means something’s got to give. EU policy in this regard is not performing as well as it should, he believes.

“The Netherlands, for instance, could see a 30 per cent reduction in cow numbers over the coming decade. The impact won’t be restricted to the Netherlands. Beef production across Europe will also be disrupted, perhaps to a lesser extent, by lower exports and further restrictions on animal transport, as well as by ongoing environmental restrictions. 

“I am worried about the ultimate impact on food production. There is a group-think mentality in Brussels that seems to have no concern about reduced European food production. The priority is reducing carbon and other emissions and nothing else seems to matter. There is little or no thought given to the responsibility to produce food for millions who cannot feed themselves. They are the ones who will suffer most from current EU policies that sacrifice our capacity to produce food in Europe.”