The president said that at a TB Forum meeting in March, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) committed to providing stakeholders with their proposals and the rationale behind them. The DAFM also committed to providing observations on the proposals made by the IFA. The IFA submitted a detailed set of proposed enhancements to the TB programme measures at the end of February, which was the deadline set by the DAFM, he said.
“Issuing an invitation to a ‘summit’ out of the blue at a week’s notice with no details on what will be discussed, and no draft documents, looks like a poorly thought-out PR stunt by the minister,” said Francie.
“The IFA consulted widely within our membership and our National Animal Health Committee which has an elected farmer representative from every county. We made what is generally accepted as being a very comprehensive and constructive set of proposals. Our document is in the public domain and can be found on our website.
“The minister was able to brief media about his ‘summit’ before he even sent the invitation to the stakeholders, yet he is unwilling to provide any details of the measures to be discussed on the day. This shouldn’t be about spin or choreography from the minister. TB is deadly serious and it is costing farmers millions,” he said.