The right to protest

This year, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has used the 'tractorcade' as a protest tool by driving their machines onto motorway bridges and through several towns across the country creating traffic disruption. Europe has seen farmers block roads in Germany, France, Belgium and Spain, involving regular confrontations with police. Here, farmer protests have tended to be peaceful and well chaperoned by our Garda force.
Contrast this to India, where farmer protests were met with riot police and tear gas. Farmers camped outside New Delhi for nearly a year to protest over the tough government measures imposed on them. Indian farmers are looking for higher government-backed prices for their crops, and debt forgiveness. That protest was attended by 700,000 farmers over the 10 months.
Protests are important, and they don’t always have to cause inconvenience to others to be effective. In the coming months, the ballot box will offer opportunities to influence the decision makers in our political system. Farmers who traditionally supported Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil should insist on that loyalty being repaid. We need farmers to look at the bigger picture and fully utilise their soft power as well as their horsepower.

The challenges facing Irish society are also facing the agricultural community. While the need for climate change mitigation measures is clear, the policies of the Green Party are making the cost of doing business more expensive on everyone and they have, rightly or wrongly, created a lot of animosity among farmers. Ultimately, we need to work with government to achieve our economic and environmental goals. This necessitates all farm organisations pulling together to a common end.
The lead up to the upcoming elections – local, European and, sooner or later, general – can be used to highlight farmer grievances and concerns. Political lobbying can be just as effective – or maybe even more so – as driving tractors around the country at considerable cost to farmers themselves and their fellow citizens.